Little bits of Bliss

Babysitting Puppies

2011-12-01T09:14:00.001-08:00

Remember this little cute puppy back at Easter that was so so cute with Ellie- but sadly was already sold--

Well the second batch of Puppies was born- and Dave is still very much wanting to have a Boxer.

Over Thanksgiving we we're able to tend them for a week and get to know them a bit while John and Mandi were visiting their parents.

They were just barely starting on the Dog food and it was very fun to get to see them learn-- now they are a bunch of oinkers whenever there's food around :)

{also ignore the really bad pics- they're living in the garage with a heat lamp not good lighting at all}

They are so cute! I've actually really missed feeding them and getting to see them each day.

But in a couple of weeks or so we'll be bringing one of our own home

{I'm actually still torn on this decision, Dave's set- but bringing a puppy home is a lot like bringing a new baby home they have to be really watched and taught and I'm just a tad bit busy lately-- ugh-- but when we go see them then I really want one too- I'm sure it will happen- Dave always wins :) }

So the decision is between these two

{there was a third which was my very favorite but it died :( and I still get a bit emotional over talking about it- While we were feeding it, it choked and nothing we did -and we did all that we knew to-- would help it-- It was very very sad and heartbreaking}

But these two are very adorable and have very cute personalities to match

{I personally like the white a bit- I think she's very cute}

{Dave likes the full fawn color}

Which one would you pick?

2011-11-30T14:56:00.001-08:00

The HOUSE {aka the reason I haven't blogged much}

So I haven't really known how to do the updates on the house-- I don't want to bore everyone to death with picture after picture after picture of us building our house-- {cuz really there are a million pictures} So I haven't been doing very many updates but my poor blog has been suffering cuz really this is what my life is right now- building our house.

So if you get bored looking at so many pictures of our house sorry-- {really sorry} but I'll probably be doing a lot more posts about it especially now that we're getting to the fun inside soon!

So the last update on the house on my blog I left you with was this

we had just finished getting the foundation poured- oh it was lovely- it was still summer and we had yet to really start the work on the house-- and it was warm :)

This is where it's at now....

and it's cold like only 34degrees out there cold, but we have most of the exterior finished Yay!

I may have skipped a whole lot cuz it was a whole lotta work to get to this-- so here's the quick update with pics {a whole lotta pics}

We built a bearing wall than a floor

Than some more walls with some sheeting

They poured the cap to our porch

Than we did some Trusses

A lot of Trusses with a big hole in the middle

A hole where we had to literally custom build our attic dormer {many much work- took along time}

I got a little scared at how stinkin big it was getting

Ya we're just building a castle here :) Had to be the tallest in the neighborhood ya know {ps this is much sarcasm I wanted a small home that would blend-- it didn't happen}

Sheeting the roof and realizing that the backhoe as much as we love it was not gonna cut it we needed something that could reach to the top of that steep steep roof

And ya we still got to see beautiful sunsets every night! {my favorite part}

Steep Roof-- I'm pretty sure I gained 10 pounds this month from the stress of seeing the people I love the most hanging by their fingernails and toenails on the roof.

Custom building dormer roof area - Done finally Yay!

Picking out the colors and I don't think they could make those samples any smaller.

The kiddo's parade-- They've love getting to spend so much time with Grandma and Grandpa Foster

Snow and Slush and Rain in October before we could get the roof on-- I love sweeping lakes of water off the floor :(

We did one smart thing we hired out the metal on the roof- {hallelujah- I didn't want to gain another ten pounds :) }

The Fireplace-- I sit in here and dream about when it's working -- sitting by the fire and reading a book during the cold -- Instead of working outside in it :)

We got Power :) no more generator noise-- yay!

Many Much Cold Days-- defrosting the Lull so we don't slide off it

Sunset and the outside 90% done :)

Stairs inside that we traded pictures for-- Good Deal cuz we were so dreading doing them.

And now we're on to finishing building walls so we can get the Subs in there-- Yay!

Well that was the quick 90 second version of the last 4mo. of our lives :)

Now I promise I'll keep you updated and maybe actually blog more

ttys xoxo Ali

Halloween!

2011-11-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

HAllOwEEn!

Truthfully in our case this was a "oh crap you've got to be kidding me it's already Halloween and I have no costumes for the kids and it's all in the storage container- HELP-- kind of a holiday" :)

Luckily my mom still had many Halloween costumes from when we were little kids that we could use.

Payton was able to be an ARRGGH PIRATE! {my mom sewed that thing back in the day-- it's awesome!}

Bryn- Got to wear one of my old dance recital costumes and though everyone called her a genie she wanted to be a princess so she we called her an ARABIAN PRINCESS.

An Arabian Princess who for the last little while has forgotten her normal natural smile :)

And Ellie was......

come on go ahead and yonder a guess.....

She'll most likely be kinda mad at us when she's older--

but it was to cute and funny to pass up

Here's another clue.....

90% of people didn't get it which made me realize I guess we really are Geeks :)

She was an EWOK.

See it now :)

Hope everyone had a fun Holiday-- we sure did and now I have some more chocolate I need to go devour this morning :)

Busy Bee...

2011-09-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

I may be slightly crazy I've decided--- remember when I was closing down my photography business for awhile cuz I was building a house and knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with it for awhile..

Well ya- that didn't happen so well-

So on top of it all I'm taking pictures still-- {and I think I'm crazy for doing it} but in my defense most of all my sessions have been just for family and close friends- the people in my life who when I literally don't have time to edit their session yet cuz' I'm spending 10+ hours a day at our new house won't freak out and write me off :)

ya I like those kind of people right now--

cuz the majority of the time I'm not holding it all together, I've forgotten a lot and I mean A LOT of stuff. {kids football, making dinner, putting on makeup, milk at the grocery store and sadly the list goes on}

But...

I'm pretty sure I have an addiction

I can't stop taking pictures

I love LOVE getting a break and going out and taking pictures of amazing people at amazing places and I love looking at them afterwards

--I might need some help--

honestly though I can't be the only one fighting this addiction?!

I mean come on people fess up...

taking pictures is addicting and fun.

and I love it- I love it so much that even though I'm going crazy building a house and trying to keep the rest of our life together and really don't have time to be messing around with pictures right now- I can't stop.

Taking pictures makes me happy- and Everyone deserves a little happy in their life I think. :)

So Sad

2011-08-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

A Horrible thing has happened-- On a ton of my posts my pictures have turned into this

For awhile I could not figure out what the heck had happened-- but now I know and I am smacking my head against the desk right now--

See I joined google + and on my account it had all the pics I had ever posted anywhere it seemed and I was thinking geez I really don't like having all those pictures linked to my account-- I'll just clean up a bit especially some of the older one's -- turns out that it was directly linked to my blog and I removed a ton of my older post pictures {we're talking a ton here!} :(

So I have much much much work to put all my pictures back {cuz my blog literally is my journal}- and really honestly right now I don't have the time- I'm barely getting showers in here. {really- don't come to close cuz' I'm sure I don't smell good :)}

So anyways to the point-- Please have patience with me as I try {try!} to gradually {& sluggishly slowly} repair my stupid mistake--- {ya oh man I could use some Nutella right now- stupid stupid stupid me.}

House update

2011-08-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to House update #586 :)

Well... this is our Life right now....

Wake up. Work on house. Feed. Clothe. Take care of kids. Work on house. Clean up after kids. Sleep. REPEAT.

But I'm not complaining-- because its so fun to see our house coming together and I enjoy the work.

We backfilled {when I say we I mean our amazing Dad and Uncle who I love to pieces-- cuz shoveling those rocks by hand sucks badly.}

Also the kids have been pretty good helpers - I think they've had fun 2-- those rock hills are quite the entertainment for them :)

The floor got poured and they did an awesome job-- It was very fun to watch.

Than we built the bearing wall which we than had to unbuild and reconfigure cuz there was some slope in our concrete-- That was fun.

Putting the floor joists on-- It was going very quickly until we hit the problem with the bearing wall and than oh my- the stairs issue.

Oh my- the stair issue-- It's still a very frusterating issue-- The way the architect had designed it was not how we wanted it {all boxed in like your walking to a dungeon and impossible to get furniture down } and we never did get thorough to him-- ahhh-- so we had to redesign them, talk to the inspector figure out if we'd have enough head clearance and a whole bunch of other headaches. Fun Fun.

Thankfully Dave bought me these pretties :) Building a house is, I ain't gonna lie, pretty dang hard on a marriage. many much decisions and all of the little differences you have really come out. But I Love my man and thankfully we still take some time for just us- and seeing him in a sexy toolbelt every night sure doesn't hurt anything {gotta love a man in a toolbelt-- yum :)}

We finally put the floor on {I'm not ashamed to admit I danced a bit of a jig in my kitchen I was so excited }

And right now were working on the exterior walls :) It's very very very fun to see them go up and get to see our house coming to shape.

And every Evening we get to see Idaho's Beautiful Sunsets-- It's a good life.

Foundation!

2011-07-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Man it's great when it's other people doing the work :)

We subbed out our foundation and after they held us up for 3 weeks they did come out and put it in for us pretty fast :) It was very enjoyable to come over everyday and see some change.

{Footings}

{Forms}

{Foundation} done yay!

I did slack and not take a pic before we installed the window wells one evening :)

and guess who else came out and did their job. Now if only our flatwork guy wasn't booked out for a month!! Hopefully our new guy who said he'd be able to be out this week is decent.

PS-- I know I know stinkin boring pictures for you guys but I gotta document it and to us these things are super super exciting- we're finally doing something :)

Bryn's Princess Birthday Party

2011-07-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Party-- Party-- Party!

That's what we've been doing all summer long it seems :)

Sweet Bryn wanted a Princess Party this year and so that is what we did.

Fun invites with bobby pin hairbows for her friends

We decorated the basement the best we could for it.

had a lovely Chocolate cake-- {I'd say she takes after her mother :) yummy yummy chocolate}

{I was wondering how she blew out all those candles so fast }

Ellie had her cupcake devoured in about 2.5 seconds

Presents Presents Presents {this girl knows how to thank her friends :) }

Than my mom {aka the bracelet bead expert} came to help us girls make some pretty bracelets

I was surprised how good the girls did and concentrated on beading the beads

Even Ellie enjoyed wearing her bracelet and pretty dress :)

and no Princess Party would be complete without Pretty Glitter Toes

and a fun girly movie to watch!

Brynley had so much fun which makes all the work so worth it! Did I ever mention how much I love having a girly girl :) Happy Birthday my amazing Sweet Brynley!

My Huge Wood letter F

2011-07-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

So I've coveted a huge letter for awhile now-- preferably an old one with lots of character. Usually when I found one though 1. I couldn't afford the price tag and 2. I couldn't find the letter F

also it crosses one off of my 30 before 30 list yay! {make a big word letter or words}

So when my niece put me on to the shop Cut it out- I was so excited!

The guy did wonder if I was sane when I asked for a 36" letter F. I guess the usual is for a thick letter about only 18" tall :) But I knew what I wanted even if it was crazy

I love doing fun projects like this where I get to play with my paints :) makes me feel like an artist even though I'm far from one.

The finish for this one I painted a tan color- than brown and black along the edges- I used some crackle paint and also some walnut stain cuz I love the color of that- I think I even spray painted the edge to a flat black- than I put on top a coat of Country White latex paint {Really I just had fun with it}

I would have liked to paint a million layers so it was really thick paint peeling off but let's face it I'm not that patient.

For now it sits on my piano-- eventually when were outta the basement It'll find a place by our mantle.

I've never been so excited for a hole in the ground

2011-07-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

We have a hole in the ground!

It's so very exciting--

It's just a hole- but hey it's our hole for our house-- that hopefully in the next century will be done :)

And look at that lovely pile of ~~dirt~~ {scratch that there aint' nothing but rocks over there}

but we knew that already :) that's why were planning on eventually building one of these suckers-- bring on those free rocks :)

America!

2011-07-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

The Fourth.....

bit of dressing Patriotic

bit of riding a motor bike for the first time

{crazy me thinking oh it's small it won't be so bad-- ya- It's not something I enjoyed-- I might be a little bit of a chicken }

bit of the best hamburgers in the world-- yum.

bit of hanging out with cousins- blowin bubbles

bit of sparklers- of course!

and just a bit of these suckers :)

I don't think the guys enjoyed playing with the fireworks at all :)

I hope everyone else's fourth was just as fun - I'm very glad to get to live in this amazing country.

Awesome Artwork

2011-07-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

So for the summer I really needed a haircut-- we're talking REALLY-- it had been a year-- I know I know naughty. But my hairstylist aka my sis in law did have twins and she's been really busy :) so I've been on the lookout for someone to do my hair.

Lucky for me my niece just graduated Beauty School and was willing to trade family pics for haircuts & colors! Sweet!

So on to the point-- I took a pic of my new hair-- posted it on facebook to show off my Niece's great talent.

{and yes for some reason I feel a little embarrassed by this pic :) I'm kinda shy like that}

And my friend Joe Misrasi {who is an amazing Artist} contacted me about doing a commission piece for fun and for his portfolio

I love it and think he did a great job.

If your interested in his work you should check out his site at

www.themidnightstreets.net

He sells a lot of his pieces and also does commission work. But alas nope you can't buy a huge pic of me for your walls :) cuz I know you guys were all thinking about doing that right :) but in all seriousness check out his work it's awesome and not the run of the mill artwork you see everywhere.

Let's PARTAAYY!

2011-07-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Summer is usually busy round these here parts-- but this summer-- HOLY Crap! It's never been busier or funner!

Payter Boy's Birthday snuck up on me this year{even with him reminding me everyday how many days were left :- let's just say he was just a little excited for it}

I wanted him to get to have a party this year since the last 2 years we've really only done the minimum that we could get away with on his birthday {it's so close to the fourth, everyone's busy, we're always traveling-- whine whine excuse excuse :) }-- and he was okay with it never complained so I felt like he deserved a party this year for sure.

This momma was a slacker though for sure- so the day before and the day of I was running around like a chicken with her head cut off :)

Balloons- check
Ice Cream- check
Cake- check {even though it had seen better days before it fell out of the truck min. before the party :) }

Rainbow cupcakes-- check thanks to the freaking amazing help of sister in law Dafne-- I could not have put everything together without her-- plus taking the time to make those is sure a lot funner with someone to do it with.
Soda +Ice + Cooler- check
Slipe n slide- check

Water Baloons- check

Back yard to do this in---- oh crap we have no backyard-- so we ended up going to Dave's parents yard but they were gone camping so talk about stressful-- I made sure there was not an inch of grass out of place after that party :)

Presents-- check

Grandparents who bought him a sling shot--- still not sure what they were thinking other than they feel they need some broken windows :)

Little adorable kids eating cupcakes-- check :)

Ultimately the party came together and Payton had a Blast! {which was the whole point right!}

Next time though dear myself-- Plan ahead you sucker- It makes life lots less stressful :)

SUMMER!

2011-06-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

You know how you can tell it's summer............

It's finally warm enough that you can let your kids jump on the tramp with the freezing sprinklers spraying them.

{well you could let them do that when it's cold too- but I try not to be that mean.. most the time :)}

The House Exterior

2011-06-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I've struggled with consistently posting on my blog lately--- I've been keeping myself busy -many much Projects I've been doing- why you ask--well -

because building a House is a bit stressful especially when your just waiting on the bank to do their crap and they say 2-3 weeks but really they man 4-5 weeks. {insert me hyperventilating from the stress that the summer is halfway over and we still don't have even a hole} BREATH :)

It's all good--

but since I've yet to take pictures of all the projects that I've been doing- I even on accident took some and put them in storage cuz they were driving me nuts here-- we don't have to much extra space. I'm gonna share with you the Exterior of our house.

The exterior I really wanted to have a craftsman/bungalow type of feel- but with a garage - cuz we NEED a garage- Need one. I also knew that I adamantly wanted a dormer/attic room-It was one place where I knew I wanted to splurge on the house- I love love love attic rooms and have ever since I played in my great grandma's attic room as a child. As for the details- Dave won the argument of having a metal roof-- I'm not the fondest of the way they look but where our roof is going to be a pretty steep pitch it'll be nice not to have to worry too much about maintenance on it. I agreed to it as long as it didn't have to be Red, Blue or Green -I'm okay with the Dark Brown though.

The rest were doing vinyl siding with some vinyl shakes and white craftsman trim :)

I'm painting my front door red {partly cuz I know there's no way Dave will let me go with a bright yellow :)} and our side door on our house is going to be a pale blue-- all because of that picture-- I saw it, fell in love with it and have never forgotten it.

So it seems things are finally moving along---Yay! Were signing the bank papers tomorrow and I can pretty much kiss my time and life goodbye after that-- I'm excited though-- it's gotta be better than the stress of not doing anything :)

What to do with an old window

2011-06-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

What to do with an old window--

Make a Command Center/ Organizational board

Here she was before-- Just a window I fell in love with while thrift shopping-- I even liked her just plain and missing her glass pane

but she works good as an organization board too-- and I love cork boards-- probably a little to much.

The Low down of how I did it:

Measured openings

Designed a calendar and a to do picture

Printed at Sams Club t he2 prints and cut them to size

Put them behind the glass pane so I could us a dry erase pen on them

Found an old bulletin board and cut it to size- inserted and glued it in

I'm pretty fond of it-- what do you think?

Gus- Vol 2

2011-06-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Remember Gus-- ya we've been working on him--

Since Dave informed me that I probably shouldn't unscrew the handles cuz the wood is so old and crappy that they'd strip out I painted them right where they were :)

{although I did actually end up taking off most of them I hate hate hate taping things off and those handles and hinges were a pain.}

I used automotive primer first and than shiny chrome paint

I than painted the ceiling a high gloss white cuz well it sounded like fun

and than started on the cabinets

And than primed the table for some Chalkboard paint-- I think that will be a lifesaver for those sometimes boring times when your stuck in the camper-- I mean what kid doesn't like to be able to color on the table :)

I don't know bout you- but it is guaranteed that I when get halfway through a project I panic and start losing all confidence in my plans and ideas :)

Usually I love em when I'm done but that halfway point for me is a killer-- anyone else struggle with this?

Gus will eventually be all Gussied up though :)

hopefully soon too- since were going camping this weekend-- gotta get a move on.

Hope you guys are having a happy busy Monday.

{missed the Vol. 1 click here}

Meet Gus-- Our new 1968 Camper Trailer

2011-06-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

We've been doing a lot of fishing-exploring this summer--- I mean a lot--- practically every few days we're heading to the mountains.

So one morning I said it'd be nice to have a camper-- Next thing I knew Dave had found one in IF on KSL for cheap cheap and we were heading to go get it.

Introducing GUS-

Ain't it a Beauty :) yeah-- he might need a bit of work & cleaning & work & repair & did I mention work

We're working on fixing him up, cuz we stayed one night in it and that was about all I could take in his current condition.

I won't lie though- the kids loved it! and are so so excited to have a camper-- no more tentin for us-{yay}

So stayed tuned for some Gus Gus transformation.

Lollipop Lollipop oh la la Lollipop!

2011-05-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

How to get your kids to take pictures:

1. Bribe them with Lollipops!

THE END it works every time.

Man do I love these guys!

{PS. Ellie LOOOOVVED her first lollipop- Mom- not so much especially the sticky mess she got to clean up afterwards} :)

Meet Lulu!

2011-05-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

I was in search of a cheap cabinet that I could use for the kids computer while we were in the basement and than later I'd use it for in my studio.

So I scoured Craigslist- and I happened to come upon this baby

She was well a piece of crap :) but she had me at the legs- oh the legs- Dave thought for sure I'd lost it especially as when we were carrying it to the truck and it was falling apart :)

But Lulu has such cute details--

I would have liked to get rid of the getto support brace at the bottom but she was really weak--Dave had to work and add more screws and braces to make sure she could withstand our kiddos.

How I finished her:

Cheap yellow spray paint at Walmart-- for my base/primer coat

Than I actually painted her with a custom color I had them mix at walmart- satin finish

I didn't quite like how light it was so I got some yellow acrylic paint and mixed it with water and did a wash over the whole thing-- loved it!

I sanded the edges and than royally screwed up when instead of a finishing her off/sealing her with a pecan stain I used dark walnut on one side :( needless to say she sat in her miserable state for a couple of weeks I was so discouraged because I was out of the base color paint and I didn't know what to do.

Finally I bought a yellow spray paint at Lowes that was close to the color I wanted- painted it and it was too yellow so than I mixed white acrylic paint with water and did a lighter wash :) yay she was back to the way I liked her.

Than I finished it off with a pecan stain and sprayed it with a clear finish

Whew-- Lulu was finally done- and I like her alot :)

She reminds me of this lady

My Grandmother-- who loves yellow and her beautiful home has many cute touches of yellow :)

So what do you think of Lulu-fan of yellow or not?

{linking to: Remodelaholic's friday party}

Ellieana's 1st Birthday!

2011-05-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

So it was this little sweethearts 1st Birthday!

{and I have still yet to go out and take her 1yr pictures-- ya I am that on top of things :)}

The Party Details

{aka the fun stuff to do}

I had tons of fun making the little flags for the cupcakes and the doily banner and one to hang on the cake stand when I get a sec I'll do a tutorial on them.

Also Please ignore the horrible lighting in my photos-- yes we live in a basement-- and also ignore the disgusting dirty window :) there are no rocks in the well so every time it rains it gets filthy and yes I've given up on cleaning it until there are rocks in there :) It looks lovely though right :)

The Party

{We had friends and family there and well Ellie wasn't to sure about this whole party thing}

"Wow what's this?"

"Oh You want me to Eat this?" "umm absolutly not!"

"That kinda tasted good"

"No I take it back- Leave me alone"

But Ellie did love Brynley's present that she made her. A yummy yummy fruit loop necklace.

Payton and Bryn loved helping her open the presents to-of course :)

I can't believe how fast a year passes--

Ellie is my little girl and my only child that's been a momma's girl, she definitely lives up to her red hair with her fiery personality and she knows what she likes and what she doesn't- Though she hates to cuddle and have her hands held she is so loving and such a happy baby- We are so blessed to have our little bug in our family.

We love you Ellieana!

Saying Goodbye.

2011-05-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

We had to say goodbye on a beautiful spring Day to our sweet loving Grandma Nola

Really we were happy for her to be able to rest and be reunited with her loved ones. I only got to know her a short time and so I loved learning about her during the funeral-- she was an amazing wonderful lady! The kind that you want to be like when you grow up.

Her funeral was beautiful and full of loving family and friends

It was wonderful that my kids were able to know her and spend time with her when Mom took care of her. Brynley grew really fond of her and loved the grandma with the "broken ears" :) What a blessing to know and have as a grandma such a wonderful woman!

The Beginnings of a Home

2011-05-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

So I have a really hard time sometimes with Huge projects--
the projects that you can't wrap your head around,
that you can't think of all the steps in your head--
The projects that are very costly and that you will have to live with for a long long time.
Ya those kind of projects make me very very scared and indecisive. did I mention very scared ?

So what's the Huge project..........

Our New Home.

{scary, fun, exciting, scary, lots of work, scary, but so exciting too}

We'll be building across from Dave's parents and close to a lot of his family.

It's a nice big open field-- where we'll be able to have room for a shop and some chickens and pigs and let our kids play in the dirt and they'll be able to work with grandpa and help grandma-- we're very excited to live close by them.

So a lot of my time and attention has been directed toward our house plans. I don't want to admit it but I am a very opinionated person when it comes to what I like, especially in a layout of a home.

{due not I will deny ever saying this :)}

So it was pretty much an impossibility finding a plan that worked perfectly for me and the plan is to be living in this house for a very long time, so I knew I'd be drawing our plans {stressful} I enjoy playing around and drawing house plans and have a binder full of ones I've drawn but this was different this was a BIG PROJECT. It had to be perfect and work for us for along time.

So life looked like this for me for quite a while

Measuring everything, living off the caffeine, editing the plan on the computer, remeasuring stuff, asking everyone what they would do in their house :)

Finally I came up with this

My crudely photoshoped version of what I wanted the outside to be similar to.

The Main Floor

and the Basement

and this is what we finally turned into the Architect. I'll go through our house plan but that's for a whole different post :)

Cake Plate Tutorial

2011-05-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

I know that this tutorial has been done a thousand times over but I have wanted a cake plate stand FOREVER.

{does anyone else always have the sandlot movie pop in their head when saying forever-- best movie ever :)}

anyways...
So this is what I started with

found at good old D.I. for a whoppin 50cents

So I painted it white- and found a white square plate at Walley world aka Walmart

Than we got some of this-- Gorilla Glue Epoxy-- ya Gorilla glue your my friend :)

Hubby Marked the plate where we wanted it to be

Added the glue, stuck the stand on and let it sit for a day.

And Wallah a cake stand for Ellie's Birthday Cake :)

Black Betty

2011-05-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

I've been spoiled

After 7yrs with my faithful computer-

Dave finally Upgraded me.

Truthfully I was a little sad to see my old computer go- I mean me and her we have a history, but I knew I was in trouble though when I was having to delete things to make room so I could save other things.
My 300 gb hard drive wasn't cutting it for me anymore. :(

So now I have my {dun dun tada!}

Black Betty!

1.5 Tera-byte Hard Drive
A Hyper Threaded Quad Core
Intel i7 processor
Windows 7 with 64bit capabilities
6gb Ram
10 usb ports
a big blue flashing light fan :)

{I say all this like I really know what I'm talking about :) all I know is that I got lots of room and it's speedy speedy Gonzales fast and I can actually have Pandora going while I open Photoshop and Illustrator and Bridge and a million other tabs :) Its so lovely }

Also for the record we won't mention her umm slightly not so pretty looks- she's fast and nice and new!

PS. Dave is a bit disgruntled with me for naming her Black Betty because our sweet shotty Shot gun is also named Black Betty, but I mean come on Black Betty just fits her perfectly :) don't you agree?!

PPS. please say were not the only crazies in the world that give names to their possessions. :)

PPPS. This post brought to you by the wicked awesome Black Betty :)

and they keep growing and growing.......

2011-05-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

My Niece and Nephew started out like this .... so sweet and small

Well.. somewhere along the way the turned into these cute chunky smiley babies!

I love getting to be the lucky photographer getting to capture their stages :)

Easter

2011-05-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

Easter was Sweeeet!

We are very very lucky to get to be around our families- We decorated and colored eggs, had an easter hunt and got to go to church with my family.

Ellie sported pig tails for the event :)

And than we got to go over with the whole Foster Bunch and have an BBQ party!

Grandma continued the tradition of Throwing Candy {next year our kids will wear helmets :)}

There was a dirt pile which was a big hit with the kids :)

They had just gotten their piggies too {man those guys can squeal!}

We played us some horsey balls which is always fun

All the kids had some fourwheel rides round the yard

We also played us a couple of fun games of Croquet {I never knew that game could be so fun}

And Ellie made a friend that was just her size

She of course wanted to play with the toys too

And was so so so cute and loving!

We would have taken her home to live with us if she hadn't already been sold-- Next batch for sure though were getting us a sweet little boxer puppy.

Like I said Easter was so Sweet! It was a beautiful wonderful sunny day filled with family and friends and the remembrance of a wonderful amazing life and Resurrection and the possibility of being with our families forever. I Love Easter!

Playing Catch-Up

2011-05-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Please Pardon my clogging up your readers but dear ol' blog is in need of an intense game of

movin movin movin finally

2011-03-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

No were not moving out of the basement into our house yet-- :( But Ellie is finally Moving!! Yay!

My kids have always been slow to crawl and walk but I won't lie this stubborn red head absolutely refused to crawl until she was dang ready and even now she won't let mom show it off to everybody unless I really offer her some incentive.

{yep I used my lens cap to get her to move this time- she was excited about that}

Man I sure do love this little girl.

The Calm before the Storm

2011-03-19T19:59:00.001-07:00

The Snow has melted. The ground has thawed. Spring is almost here.

Which means for us that it is almost time to build our home and it is gonna be crazy, crazy busy.

Today was Day one for us-- We had to take down and relocate half the fence that we put up 3yrs ago.

It was my than first fence putting up and it was now my first fence tearing down :)

Lucky for us we had Uncle Steve's and awesome Dad there to tell us {more like me} how to do these darn country things.

I was the lucky sucker who got to take out all the staples, put staples in the new posts and unscrew all the bolts on the braces- It was very quiet nice repetitive work except for the fact that my hands are killing now.

Did I mention that fencing really isn't my thing-

That barbed stuff is sharp.

And it tends to be cold and windy and gotta wear them covey's kinda of a job everytime.

No I don't think I'll become a professional fencer-

My hands hurt, I'm chilled to the bone, and man was I pretty dang slow at it :)

But Yay Yay happy dance were one step closer and it feels so much better to be doing something than to just be dreaming and planning-- I like it. :)

Project 52 • week 9

2011-03-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

So the assignment this week was b&w street photography....

I actually kinda laughed when I found out that this was the assignment this week-- I mean I live in a rural town now and it's winter still and cold and no one is usually out and about walking-- The country isn't built that way-- people are almost always in their cars. And how was I gonna go out and do some street photography with my two little girls- one in a car seat still- ya I can just picture myself lugging around the carseat and the camera trying to make sure bryn doesn't get run over and taking pictures or trying to take pictures of people walking around in the cold winter air :) It was kinda laughable-- I'd be laughing if I saw a mom doing that so.........

Though I didn't want to be left out and not do the assignment so I did the best I could-- This is main-street in my town in the winter on a weekend nonetheless :) Yes it's just thriving with activity :)

Did I mention I love my town though it's special and I like the quietness.

Doggone winter.

2011-03-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

Is it here still-- Yep yep it is.

Am I sick of it?-- Yep Yes I am!

Did Tiki and Bruno get Tapeworms?-

Yep- Yes they did.

Did I freak out and wash every surface Tiki has ever touched in our house and ban him to my parents house

Yep yes I did-- and than I got the Flu :)

Did I mention I am so sick of this Winter--

will it ever end--

will I ever have a desire to create some stuff again--

I sure hope so. Otherwise this blog is bound to be even more Boring than it is right now :)

So- sorry for the boringness I just really haven't been me lately-- soon, hopefully soon.

Project 52 • week 8

2011-03-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

A Bugs eye view.........

Dear Bug-- I am going to squish you. Love Ali

Project 52 • catch up

2011-02-22T15:18:00.000-08:00

So I joined a project 52 on facebook which I have had so much fun doing. There is other photographers involved which just makes it fun to see what awesome things they come up with, but sometimes I take more than one pic for the assignment so I thought it would be fun to post them on here.

So to catch up and than I'll post individual one's each week.
Week 1 was self portrait {I had no tripod at this time-- It was very challenging and cold}

Week2 was b/w image of something that represents YOU {books, tablets, old chairs? who knows}

Week 3 was take a picture of a stranger- I happened to get sick that week and didn't leave the house once :)

Week 4 was motion and I just flat out slacked and didn't do it. I felt bad afterwards.

Week 5 was a self portrait with something you love {oh how I love me some Harry Potter}

Week six was Vehicles {I took a last min. pic of my hubby's other Lover-- he hasn't caressed her much since I came around though )}

and Week 7 was something that represents Broken {I drew a picture similar to this in high school-- I felt a bit broken and messed up then :)}

It's been fun and kinda challenging-- especially doing self portraits I've never done them before, and trying to be creative with the topics too-- so far I'm loving it though- and ya I know your so excited to see more huh :) riiighhhtt.

SSSSSlacker.

2011-02-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

Ya even I don't know where I've really been it's just been passing by in a blur.

I know we went Rollerskating..

twice actually and the kids loved it once they learned how not to fall on the butts every few seconds.

And I did couple shots for all of our friends for some practice

which meant we also got to go out to eat with all our friends after taking pictures which was so fun! I am a big fan of eating out without the Kids! It's somehow so much more enjoyable.

We also built something that I absolutely LOVE out of this scrap wood at my father-in-laws

that I'll show you once I finish staining and painting it. *hint: It does go by my table :)

and just in the last few weeks we've went to two baby blessings

and our nephew's homecoming-- {dear ward- I promise we're still active, we just happen to be active in other wards}

And I threw a surprise party for this sucka...

It included lots of Pizza, Dew, a Rice Crispy Cake {cuz he hates real cake :)} and a whole lot of Halo till 3:30 in the morning.

I think he enjoyed it :)

And currently I'm just trying to keep on top of my small Photography Business, being a Mom- especially with sick kiddo's every other week, and trying to make up my mind and make the thousand of decisions that come with getting ready to build a home.

Life's good- busy right now -but good.

Bring on some color- kid style

2011-01-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

In order to brings some color into our house/apartment and to give the kiddo's something fun that they would enjoy doing I got out my paint supplies and some canvas's that I had bought from Walmart and said--
Go To Town

Payton was very excited-- he is my little paint harasser and whenever I even think of lifting up a paintbrush he's there asking-- "can I paint, can I paint- pretty please can I paint" so this project was so COOL to him :)

Brynley was just excited to use pink :)

and I loved it-- honestly it gave me some quiet time- the kids got to do some fun stuff and now I have some priceless original artwork for my walls that I can't help but smile when I look at them and see my cute kids artwork and names :)

Coming round..

2011-01-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

January's been kind of a bit of a blur.

my blog has been neglected............ and you know when you haven't talked to someone in a long time it feels kinda awkward to talk again.... kinda like well hmm I don't know what to say?
Well that's how I've been feeling.. that and if I'm honest, a whole lotta depression lately.

I don't like to be down on my blog but I don't like to lie either.This is my place to be just me-- even crazy me.
Winter is kinda a rough time-- It's beautiful

But rough for me. There's rarely sunshine it's cloudy a lot and it's to cold to get out and exercise or do a lot of projects-- heck it's to cold to get out at all for me especially with my kids in tow, the roads are slick and I am a paranoid driver- there's weeks that I'm stuck inside all the time--

I felt like I was doing okay this year-- I mean I've been actually making dinner for the fam{I know that one's a shocker-- I hate cooking} and Payton's been getting his homework done-we've been doing Brynley's school- the house is clean- laundry's all done and caught up- I didn't have a breakdown in church like I did last January- and that is always a big plus :) but..

I am halfway through book six in the harry potter series- and it's only been a week
I've been wearing Dave's T-shirts everyday- haven't showered in 3days {and even though Dave says he loves me still- all gross and stinky- I hate feeling that way- I like to be the wife dressed and looking good for hubby when he gets home}
I have had absolutely no desire to do or create anything like I usually do,
I've been comparing myself to other people in blogland and of course I always come up short -way short.
haven't felt like eating much, and I have wondered what the heck my purpose lately is.

All not really good signs-I see them- I recognize them-- but still it's hard to fight them and wake up nonetheless. So even though January has been so white and beautiful

It's not been a good month for me.

but here's to turning a new leaf-- Life is always better when I realize that Heavenly Father loves me I'm his child, I don't have to be the best at anything {cuz I'm pretty sure I never will be} it's okay to be just me even if i'm crazy sometimes, and to just do the best with the talents he's givin me- and try to make my life something that when it's all said and done It will be well.

when all is said and done

as the season slips away

when i've taken steps beyond my sight

will i find my strength in greater light

will my courage grow with every passing day

and will my faith be constant as the setting sun

when all is said and done

and the years have turned to gold

will my life become a legacy

of the things that matter most to me

will the fire of faith grow bright inside me

and will i want to be the person i've become

when all is said and done

when my eyes can finally see

will i glory in the sweet release

and will mercy fill my soul with peace

will i kneel and wonder at the savior's feet

will i hear him say, "well done"

when he sees who i've become

will i live with him

when all is said and done

My favorite song that always brings me to tears and touches my soul

"when all is said and done" by Katherine Nelson

Fa La La la La

2010-12-29T22:43:00.000-08:00

Tis the season' for.....

shoveling snow-- {so much shoveling }

Playing in the Snow

Christmas Parties

did I mention crazy fun Christmas Parties :)

Family Pictures

Tree Pictures

Holiday Bokeh pictures :)

and of course all the yummy yummy treats

there's the making gifts

and lastly the sweet opening gifts :)

Our Holiday season I'd say was pretty full and lots of fun! Hopefully yours was too!

I ain't gonna lie to ya

2010-12-22T23:30:00.000-08:00

Some days I feel like this--

In fact for the last month I feel like I've felt like this.

Dear Santa-- for Christmas I would really like some sunlight with some vitamin D to make me feel happy and productive again cuz geez it's freakin Christmas and everyone is suppose to be happy at Christmas!

Puppies!

2010-12-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

They're so soft and sweet and Brynley just loves- loves- puppies :)

Dave's Brothers Dog had it's puppies and our kiddo's got to go and see them

Brynley came home wondering when Tiki's gonna have his pups -

yup it's been fun trying to explain that one :)

Runnin

2010-12-16T17:32:00.000-08:00

Wow I feel like I started running right after Thanksgiving and I still haven't stopped and I'm still not caught up on everything.

The Good News though---

WE moved to the basement-- Yay!! Happy happy JOY joy-- dear, my dishes and silverware and stuff I've missed you :)

The So so news----

It's still not all the way done :) but if we wanted to be in before Christmas it was now or never cuz my lucky parents were leaving on a cruise and won't be back till 2 days before Christmas.

So here is the currently on the basement-------{someday they'll be a all the way finished pictures of the basement- someday}

For now were happy just to have our own little space again.........
A Kitchen

I missed my table and someday we'll finish the Pantry Cabinet with beadboard doors, crown and baseboard and the Island and paint the trim and ya :)

We even have our own entrance-- sweet!

A nice bedroom with lovely painters tape trim around the window-- ya I need to paint still :)

and we squished those kiddo's into one room--:)

Delila even found a perfect place to stay :)

And we put up our Christmas tree-- pretty much that's been the majority of my decorating for Christmas this year-- it just ain't happening-- too much to do.

And a bathroom-- so important you really can't live without them :)

I'm very happy to have our own space again-- and I'm sure my parents are glad to have us out of their space 2 :)

Winner Winner :)

2010-11-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

and it's...

Kelsey with her extra entry for posting it on her blog :)

Sweet! I'll be getting your address and mailing it to you soon! Thanks you guys for entering! Next week we'll be having Giveaway 2 & 3 (cuz well I never win at giveaways and I thought it'd be fun to give more people a chance to win) So stay close :)

Thanks+Giving Week Giveaway 1• Headband Ear Warmer

2010-11-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

I love Blogging-- and a big part of that reason is because of the amazing people I've been able to meet and get to know more about through blogs-- I can't tell you how many times I've read through the comments that are left and how they have just made my day and made me so happy! here are some of my favorites :) and there are so many more---

Calise said...I just found your blog through the CSI Project (The table turned out beautiful, not picnic-tabley whatsoever :D) and I have a serious blogcrush now. I was scrolling through your posts, saving everything in sight, then I saw this post and was filled with glee since I was scouring the internet just earlier today for good pettiskirt tutorials and yours is so straightforward. Whew, getting long-winded. Anyway I wanted to compliment you on the blog and tell you I will be following with girlish anticipation.

:D Calise

Ana White said...Ali, your work needs to be in magazines! This table is absolutely beautiful!

Christina said...That is so funny. I'll never get the pink hammer:( Just so you know, I linked to you from Knock Off Wood and have spent the last hour+ reading your blog. I just seemed to connect with you on so many different levels so I kept reading and reading. We have a lot in common. Based on a couple things I read, we may have even lived close once (I live in Ucon,ID). Anyway, didn't want you creeped out in case you noticed a stranger viewing your blog for such a long time. Good luck with #3. It was a hard adjustment for me, but it's so wonderful now:) BTW- LOVE the bed. I'm going to have my hubby make one for our toddler boy this summer. Can't wait.

The Special K's(0: said... Love it love it love it. And even better when it's for FREEEEEEE (loved that movie too, btw). So much light! Your sweet family has worked so hard, and it turned out AWESOME! Way to be(0:

You Guys are awesome! So my small way of saying thanks is to have some giveaways this week cuz' it is Thanksgiving isn't it. So I'm going to be GIVING in order to THANK :) ya get it right :)

Giveaway Number 1 is......This soft, warm, chic Headband earwarmer!

Because it did this here this week-- ugh Snow!

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me one of your favorite things to do when it snows :)

{open only to US and Canadian residents :( and please make sure I'll be able to email you for your address}

-----Ends November 19th all winners for the week will be announced on Sat. the 20th-----

and if you want to double your chances steal this button and blog or facebook about it with a link back

The Basement Update

2010-11-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

What I have been doing............../where have I been......... / is it ever going to end................

- Installed Kitchen Cabinets

- Layed flooring + Cut Baseboard

Make mess- clean mess- make mess- clean mess :)

Tile-- ugh oh the tile-- and we still have to grout :)

and Painting now-- :) who said this was gonna be fun- Cuz it feels like it's taking forever

I guess it hasn't all been bad-- it's made me so frustrated with how slow it's been going I finally got the courage to dye my hair dark-- Hey it was something I could change and get some instant gratification from and I kinda like it:)

So sorry my blog's been well prolly boring but this project has literally taken over my life-- and I guess it's a good thing cuz' we do need a place to live :)

Fall leaves!

2010-11-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

One of the Reasons we love Idaho is being close to Family! For FHE we decided to go and serve grandma & grandpa by going and raking up their leaves! The Kids Loved it!

Payton jumped right to work and wouldn't share the rake with anyone :)

even Ellie chipped in :)

and yes I know this picture is beyond blurry thanks to the fact that literally it was dark and I only had my rebee with me who doesn't handle low light as well-- but I still love it- it captures bryn to a T.

Dad had to bring out the big guns cuz' it was getting dark and man there were a lot of leaves!

of course we had to jump in the leaves 2! It was Dark but so much fun I even jumped in :)

and yes I was finding leaves where they shouldn't have been all the rest of the night :)

and to end my sweet sweet Ellieana! I love this girl! What were we thinking when we thought of stopping at two! Crazy :)

Momma knows Best

2010-11-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

So it kind of is a rare occurance that my mom actually reads my blog-- I know kinda weird--- but now that I'm living at her house she really see's no reason to :) but today she got on to look at a picture of her new grandkids and made my day by saying that she loved this picture and this picture ect ect :)

So because my mom made my day and because she said she'd love these pics on her wall I'm sharing them with you to Download- Print- and well do whatever you'd like with them {except please no commercial use}

This is my Favorite pic-- and will probably be on my background forever cuz it makes me so happy -I don't know why I'm such a sucker for white flowers but I so swoon over them :)

You will need to click on the pic which will take you to the full res size where you'll magnify to it's greatest size and than right click save :) Hopefully you'll enjoy them

Before & After Recent little projects {Dresser, Bed, & Chair}

2010-11-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

Little Projects--- cuz' well I don't have space right now for the big projects and I know craigslist has been missing me-- it calls to me everynight and I ignore it and go cry into my pillow-- oh Colorado's Craigslist how I miss you so-- :)

Anyways so I am almost positive I took some more pictures of these projects but ya I may not have who knows I'm pretty sure I've lost all my brain now with my third-- there is no retention abilities left

So the only before picture I have of my little newborn bed prop

It was well okay-- a bit to much gold going on for me and I really wanted a more vintage looking bed so.......

The after-- and I love it-- If only it was a little bit bigger I'd go cuddle up with a good book on it :)

and the chair-- I found at D.I. in Utah for $2 and I have absolutely no before pics--- just use your imagination and picture GOLD-- lots of gold---

I tried to get Brynley to be my model on it but alas she was sick of pictures--ya it happens sometimes.

And my last before and after is my favorite Dresser in the whole wide world-- I named her Delila :) She's been done for along time now but for some reason I never took her picture-- she's my Craft dresser and holds all my ribbon and hairbow making stuff, and craft paint and ya lots of yummy fun stuff.

Before: Once again a already into the project picture-- I get a little anxious to start-- anyhow she was oil based white paint all over-- and it was blotchy and dirty and yellowing so I stripped her {oh my}

The After:

I love her sides-

and the knobs-- :) I've loved glass knobs for a while and found these at hobby lobby and from than on she became my delila-- my oh so petite girly dresser :) come on I can't be the only one who names her furniture right?

Halloween

2010-11-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

It was fun, rushed, a little stressful for mom aka me, glad it's over, glad the kids liked it. The end. period :)

Really I'm secretly glad it's over-- but I knew I'd better blog about it for my kids cuz' when it boils down to it this is more of my journal than anything else---

First off was the costumes-- Payton wanted to be toothless- sweet hey walmart, check-- wait what they can't wear masks to pretty much anything hmmmmmmm hmmmmmmm hmmmmmm an hour later walking around walmart I find a toothless beanie cap-- sweet double duty- halloween and a winter hat :) now I just have to convince Brynley that she just really really wants to be a princess again :)

Toothless worked out-- the boy so happy at school parade---

Brynley content at school parade dressed up in princess skirt-- although she was a little confused at why to clapp when they walked by :) she did say to the people standing next to us though "my brother looked so cute"-- ha ha ha he he

But now after seeing all the costumes she wants to be Tinkerbell-- ahhh which she had been hinting at all week-- "mom I want to be tinkerbell" no no you don't want to be tinkerbell-- pretty princess's all the way-princess, princess, princess. no? Dang--Dave, Dave can you after work go over to walmart and look for a tinkerbell costume---please pretty pretty please with lots of sugar on top.

He came home with this-- Brynley knew it wasn't tinkerbell but luckily she's still young enough we can sell her on how stinkin cool and cute this one is and I'll even do her hair like tinkerbell's and put leaves and ribbons in it-- yay! :)

and Hey we didn't slack all the way we did carve pumpkins-- " Hey Jake and Jenni so well we thought it'd be fun to hang out and carve pumpkins since we have no house though were gonna invite ourselves over to yours :)

and it was a ton of fun! Kaytee even showed up so we could steal all her pumpkin carving stuff and leave her left to sit on the floor with the crappy knife :)

good old yummy pumpkin guts :0

Payton had Dave carve something similar to toothless--

and well Brynley got left with my less than spectacular caving abilities and sadly we forgot tea lights 2 :)

but hey we aren't dumb- we know how to light those things up in other ways :)

Ultimately we know what it's all about-- Eating Lots of yummy Candy and ending the night hanging out with family! now those are some good times!

House Help

2010-11-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

So we are planning on building in the spring and I've dreamed of building our final house for years-- I've drawn up plans and had even the kitchen cabinets planned down to the exact layout and dimensions for each cabinet-- {let's just say I had a lot of time on my hands when my kids were babies and I had never heard of a blog yet :)}

but now that it is time to actually really seriously get down to business about this I am so undecided and I don't know what I want--- ahhhhhh--- well I know what I want but I don't know all at the same time :) My ideas and likes have changed over the years and this is a home that I am going to be living YEARS in and I'm a little worried about the changes in life, for instance- right now my kids want to be close to me but I'm sure as teens they are going to want to be far from mom and dads room as possible-- and the other thing is is I do not, do not, do not, want a big big house. I don't like them I don't like vaulted ceilings and wasted space and don't like having a dining room that you eat in only once or twice a year- I don't need a gourmet kitchen cuz' hey I sure am not a gourmet cook I just want a moderate sized comfortable (warm and inviting) home :)

I know I like the craftsman bungalow outside style of a home-- with the big porches and the top stories built into the roof-- {my hubby still shakes his head over this but I love the look of older homes I just don't so much like the oldness of older homes :)}

I also know that I really really would like a white kitchen with wood accents and a bar island-- these pictures make me swoon looking at them-- I probably wouldn't have my kitchen as big as some of these but ya their yummy

I know I want a mudroom/command center area--of course -- I think I'd die without one

and I want lots of details and bookcases ect.

and for complete randomness I really really want a blue door like this :)

See I know some things :) but some of the things I have ?'s with is.............

~ would you ever have your kids sleep on a different level than you when they're young

~ If you have a family room on your main floor and one in your basement doesn't one of them pretty much become neglected and just more of a formal room kinda wasted space? or do you love having two of them

~ and a desk in the kitchen-- Love need Hate?

and my Uncles favorite quotation "Opinions are like butt cracks- everyone has one" So I'm inviting you to share them-- not so much your cracks though- you can spare me and you the embarresment- but your opinions-- I really want to know--

What would you be putting in your dream house?

{ps. I have no rights to any of these pictures and sadly I don't know where I got them from they've just been randomly collected over the years and put in my house inspiration file-- so if they're yours and you want credit just tell me and I'll add it}

Been.

2010-10-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Why editing pictures and taking pictures and designing Christmas cards and on and on and on and well trying to finish the basement of course-- my plate feels a little full-- hopefully I can eat it all :)

The latest shoots + a pic just for Great Grandma of her new twin grandchildren!

And I thought taking pics of just one newborn was challenging :) I love my new niece and nephew they are little sweeties!

Fall is definitely a busier time for pics-- and man it just seems to be flying by anyone else wonder where in the heck October went to?! I pretty sure someone stole it off the calendar and tricked everyone into thinking that it really was the 30th.

Progress + Organization tips series

2010-10-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

So things are chugging along in the basement-- Today actually I'll be tiling the bathroom :) I'm excited it'll be with 18x18 tiles and I looovvvee big tiles :)

Just for a reminder here is the basement when I moved in:

It was well...... umm........ slightly overrun with stuff-- we'll call it many fast quick moves and not enough time to go through it all or fix it all up.

Here's after the first day...

The first step {in this pretty much overwhelming project for me} was to start separating stuff out and making piles, I knew my parents didn't want all this stuff and a lot of it could go to DI but I had to get approval on what could go and what had to stay, so I had to make piles that later my mom could come down and check off and confirm what was okay to be gone.

Here's the currently.....

and ya a lot of steps are missing in between (and a lot of time :) but it was just too hard to document a project this big cuz' half the time I was too frustrated to feel like it would actually ever get clean and I just had to force myself to keep going and face those scary spiders hiding in those nasty cardboard boxes {ughhhhhhh}

The storage room still isn't quite done-- but really it's the best I could do with what they wanted to keep (and they did get rid of a lot so it was a great first step-- and I'm still part of the family-yay- they didn't disown me or want to kill me-most the time- so that's really Really good :)

And now were on to the next step of finishing the basement-- the actual fun stuff! Wish me Luck!

But..... also I've decided that it'd be kinda fun to do some organization tips on my blog every so often... I love to organize, and do fall and spring cleaning- (ya I might be slightly crazy but hey at least I can admit it!:)) so...I'm introducing my.......

{ps. I know I am no professional and I myself am thinking "geez who am I to be all high and mighty and give tips" but I do know some and it couldn't hurt, could it??? right??? right?? and if you have some great tips to by all means share them in the comments of the posts we'll just all share and learn it'll be great :)}

Anxiously awaiting....

2010-10-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

The arrival of my new niece and nephew!

They're either coming today or being forced to come tomorrow cuz' momma has gone far enough :)

isn't she so pretty?!-- even 9 mo.pregnant with twins!-- I tried to tell my brother he couldn't marry her cuz' I did not want to be the ugly duckling in the family but did he listen to me NO-- O-well, I guess I can handle it cuz' she is a pretty great sis in law to have.

Did I mention I'm so excited for them to come! Plus I get to take pictures of them it's gonna be GREAT! :)

FALL IN {♥ w/} IDAHO

2010-10-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

So..... have I been overwhelmed lately-- yes, have I not felt like blogging lately--- yep, have I wanted to change my blog for like ever now--- yes siree Did I even shower today-- that'd be a big fat no :) but I did cuddle and get to play with my 2 sweet girls so that's better than a shower any day right :)

Seriously though life's been a bit busy and overwhelming and I feel like I have about a million and a half halfway completed projects that I just can't seem to finish-- anyone else experiencing this problem lately :) ya it's fun, but now I'm vowing to complete those projects and keep up with my blog cuz' ya it makes me happy :) Anyways.... now that really had nothing to do with this post :)

This post is about how we just barely had our great friends from Colorado come and visit us here in good ol' Idaho, and Idaho in the fall is SWEET! Ya this post is pretty much just fall pictures cuz' I lovveee fall and I like pictures so it's all yummy goodness :) it's all good :)

For their visit they ended up going to Yellowstone National park but since Dave was starting his first week of work and had to work friday we ended up not being able to go there with them but we met them up at our friends cabin and played games and games and laughed and showed off my new camera to some friends that would appreciate it and all it's loveliness :) and laughed some more and than crashed cuz' we were all tired :) But the next morning we took them to Mesa Falls but just the lower falls cuz' hey were kinda cheap like that and you have to pay now for the upper falls :)

It was pretty fun but freezing cold and payton was bummed cuz' he wanted to be closer so of course his sister gave him some luvs {so cute to bad they're not like that all the time}

Next we dragged the Bastians down to Warm River to feed the fish-- and the kids loved it!

It was pretty fun to try to catch the fish in pictures too!

Next up was The Rexburg Temple and BYU-I gardens

Where little Katie was such a cutie she did much better pictures for the camera than my kiddos' who everytime I point the camera at them now they gotta make some sort of silly face-- but I still love them :)

After Rexburg we went and ate ate BAMBINO'S yummy yummy yummy!

and than headed to the Idaho falls Temple {the Bastians like to take pics of the temples and do alot bettter job at it than I do}

The falls were very pretty too and had such nice lighting :) I loved the geese all lined up on the edge

And the kids had fun playing in all the leaves

Don't you just LOVE FALL?!

The happenings

2010-09-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

Oh my-- so I've tried to keep myself very busy (so I don't miss my hubby so much) and in doing so I have lots of projects I've done and have been doing-- I've crochet 7 hats, painted my little bed I got antiquing, helped my sis in law reupholster 2 chairs- planted some trees- ya ya ya it goes on but I'd love to share them with you cept I have yet to take pictures of the finished products :)

Instead I am now tackling the biggest and ughhhhest project for me--

helping my parents with the dreaded Basement----

I would so shy away from this project except for the fact that

DAVE GOT A JOB HERE!!!!

so we'll be moving into my parents basement hence the need to finish it-- I have some awesome parents to let us live down there but ya ugh it's gonna be alot of work

mostly of which I will be doing by myself since my mom is so busy with school-- I shall win this war :) It will be nice soon :)

Of course I still have my sweet kiddo's who come first to take care of-- and lately this girl has been copin an attitude with her siblings-- she thinks she's the boss- here's her telling her brother off while she's getting her sweet picture taken :) Man do I love her :)

All I can really say is boy have we been so so so blessed by a loving heavenly father who is aware of our needs and what we need to do to grow and become more like him-- Life is good.

P.S. wish me luck on the basement I willllllllll have after pics and they'll be awesome!! :) {me talking to myself so I don't just crawl in bed and give up :)}

my New Lover

2010-09-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

So...........

I got this baby :) and was so so so excited! I kinda had to have Dave click the buy button cuz' I just couldn't do it so really my hubby got me my new lover- if that ain't just sick and twisted -huh :)

Don't be jealous Dave-- your still the only man for me--

I think I shall name my new lover fifi doesn't that just make you feel better-- yep I'll name him fifi and he'll be my squishy clicky snap snappy lover :) ohhh fifi :) but I think my poor little rebee is feeling a little left out lately :)

{ oh ya ps. I noticed that I didn't have my wedding ring on for any of these :( and it's not because I am not still madly in love with my hubby it's just cuz' sometimes I forget to put it on in the morning-- cuz man do I still love him, maybe just a little more than my fifi- but just a little :)}

Awww Man..

2010-09-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

So if by chance you remember ... I gave Dave a pretty bad time about getting his nerd computer and it being so big (-if you don't here's the link)-- well this arrived in the mail for me yesterday :)

it's not so big right?? :) Aww man dave is gonna give me crap for this :) o-well I'm super excited to use this baby. I'll make this thing look good :)

Last days of summer

2010-09-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

The Freedom

The sleeping in

The busy busy busy fun times

Ahh Summer---

Mom was sure ready for it to be over!!

YAY!!!!!! Bring on the school year and schedule to life again

Happy New School Year to all the moms out there :)

Before & After

2010-08-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Okay I don't know how else to do this but be ready for about a million pictures :)

Our house closed yesterday and I figured well it's now or never to post those before and after pictures of our house. It's crazy to me to think that this time last year I was painting my guts out-- I seriously painted every surface of that house- and it was fun, I really enjoyed making it look better- There was a lot of stuff that we could've done even more to it but it wouldn't have been worth it we would have never seen a reimbursement of that money so I think we did a good amount and I really hope the people who move in really enjoy and love it.

it's a sad sad day though-- I never took a pic of the kitchen with our new table and at least decorated a little bit :(

Don't you just love those maroon blinds :) yes yes sadly they had to go

Don't you absolutely love the Mnt. Dew basement-- I'm guessing they just really loved Mt. Dew green :) Dave so wanted to paint a Mnt.Dew Logo on the wall but I said umm no.

now on to the upstairs....

Bryn's room actually went though the most paint colors (but didn't it have awesome ronald mcdonald colors at first :))-- first I painted it pink-ugh to bright of a color than light blue turned out to white and finally I just painted it to match the rest of the house when we put it on the market :)

We did do the front landscaping a little bit but alas I never took a pic-- ya sometimes I get lazy :)

And that is the tour of a yr of my life :)

Foster campin trip annddd a trip home

2010-08-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

So after the crazy week it just continued on..... next up was the foster family camping reunion--

Look at the great trick Logan & Spencer taught Payton :) so much for the don't play in the fire lessons right

Payton loved being with "the boys" and he got to spend the whole week up there, while me, bryn & ellie just went up for a day.

He loved all the fourwheeling and really getting dirty :)

While we were up there Glen took me on a four wheel ride that was a ton of fun and showed me how beautiful Idaho is really again :) yes it's true I was missing beautiful beautiful Colorado springs

It was great-- well great until I ran the 4wheeler off the trail-- than that sucked-- don't ask me how I did it but I jumped some logs went tramplin through the thick brush and somehow managed to stay on the machine also-- to the surprise of my nephews, who saw the crazy woman on her bucking bronco-- ugh it wasn't good you should have seen me jump off and panic "oh please oh please let nothing be wrong with the machine-- hurry help me, help me get it back on the trail before dad see's :) Sadly he did see, I really jumped some big logs-- of course Dad was more concerned with me but I was so worried I'd wrecked his machine-- luckily everything was and is okay- whew! I did have some pretty good bruises to show off to Dave when I went to see him :)

Which brings me to my trip back to C.S.

See two weeks without hubby was rough-- I really think the most we've been apart in the 7 years has been a week-- so needless to say we were both missing each other-- I about just jumped in the car and drove to see him just me and ellie but at the last second I had a horrible feeling that I wasn't suppose to go :( So than my Dad helped me get some plane tickets so I could go fly and see him.

Flying's great 1 hour compared to 12 :) and Ellie was so good and slept the whole time both ways.

So while we were there we seriously hung out with Bastians every day and every night :) and of course that means taking pictures- we went up to the Denver temple and took some

Trish also invited me along to take some pictures of her activity day girls-- we went to the College there it's so pretty :)

One of the fun and probably not the best things for me to do was we went to an antique store-- it was huge!!! I loved it and while Trish didn't buy anything I could've bought the whole store :) Dave wasn't to happy he was a little concerned with how in the world he was going to fit it in his car to bring it here eventually :)

I am in love with this little red chair-- I can't wait to take some cute pictures on it :)

while we were there also Trish helped me give Ellie her first haircut :) I just gave her a little buzz, she had really long hair in the back and a bad bald spot so I wanted to even it out a little-- I laughed at how small she was in the little high chair- she didn't cry at all but I could tell she was a little concerned with what we were doing :)

When I flew back to Salt Lake I decided I wanted to take some pictures of the Bountiful Temple where me and Dave were married. We went on Sunday and just walked around it right at sunset-- The Temple has such a special peaceful feeling- I'm very glad that me and Dave could be sealed for eternity there with our family.

The beautiful flowers on the temple grounds

Did I mention Dave also proposed to me as we were walking around the bountiful temple-- it holds a lot of special memories for me.

Sometimes I am just in awe at the beauty the Lord has created for us.

Well I think I'm finally caught up :) next up I'm gonna post the before and after's on our house

Anniversary, Birthday, Blessing, Reunion

2010-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been a busy summer---
and ya this all happened in a week + add in the fact that I had just packed up my house in 4 days and made a 12hour drive with a 2mo. old-- we definitely made some memories that's for sure.

First off was Dave's Parents 50th wedding anniversary--

For their anniversary they decided that they wanted for all of their kids to go through a temple session with them at the Idaho Falls temple where they work currently -{don't know what I'm talking about? click here to learn about temples} It was such an amazing experience, and so special-- I love being a part of this family.

After the temple they had their traditional chicken fry in the backyard-- it's such a big family and it was tons of fun catching up with everyone and getting to see grandma morris also, who might not be here too much longer.

For their anniversary me and Dave decided to take some pictures for them to give to them as a present, so after much begging and pretty much just springing it upon them we got them out to do it :) I tried to make it as least painful as possible :) Dave had a different idea though :)

We sure love them-- they're the best! We have missed working with them, and four wheeling and popcorn Sunday's :)

Next we celebrated our sweet Brynley Girls 4th B-day---

It landed at such a busy time I felt bad that we couldn't do more- but we did buy her a sweet little cake that she LOVED!! and she's still at the age that I can pass off new underwear as a cool gift :) Sweet!

Than we had the Jensen Reunion up at the cabin--

Before we left I had and I mean I had to get a sno-cone. They do not sell them in C.S. I think they are freakin crazy-- I love sno-cones- Blue raspberry, Red raspberry daiquiri is the best in the world! I had been craving one for a year :)

At the cabin we played and played and played and they threw me and my sister Dafne- who's expecting twins- ahhh :)-- a shower. It was lots of fun and Ellie got many many cute little outfits to wear.

After the reunion we gave Ellieana a name and a blessing---

After we had gotten an offer on our house I knew I'd run outta time to make Ellie's blessing dress so I woke up one morning at 3 {I was just a bit restless}and sewed and sewed and sewed until that dang dress was done :)

Dave gave her a name and a blessing in his parents ward and than afterwards we had a luncheon at their house-- it was great to be able to have so much family and close friends able to attend-- I laughed as I put Ellie in her car seat with all that fluff though- she didn't know how much she enjoyed that-- :) but she did do amazing during the blessing and my grandfather said that it was a very special experience, she had looked up at Dave the whole time.

Sadly though after all that fun and excitement I had to say goodbye to Dave as he drove home to work and thus began my life in this slightly less colorful world :) me being melodramatic-- no never :) nevertheless it was such a busy fun week and surprisingly still life/summer has yet to really slow down-- I'm in desperate need of a good long rest, maybe when school starts finally-- well that's what I'm hoping for anyways.

Movin Movin Movin

2010-08-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

So well I've slacked and slacked bad-- I mean really bad :) so now were playing catch up. lots of catch up. so this is me apologizing for the next million of catch up posts that'll clog up your reader (if you have one) but I gotta do it :)

So first the big news

We Sold our House!

The first part of July (like the 10th) we got our house under contract--- it had been on the market for about a month so it felt really fast to me since the market really had been pretty slow-- They wanted us out by the 30th-- ugh-- and we were planning on a week long vacation in Idaho the 17th-25th to attend Dave's parents 50th, my family reunion and to bless Ellie.

So Dave really didn't have enough vaca to make two trips to Idaho so I ended up packing up the house in 4 days loading it into "the greatest father in law in the world's" trailer and moving it to Idaho to store it,

and since we didn't have much time and after praying about what exactly to do I got a very strong answer that I was suppose to be in Idaho-- so we moved me into my parents house with the kiddo's and Dave would stay in our great friends the Kneisers basement for awhile while we figured stuff out :)-----{Living like that now for a month I can officially say it SUCKS! I miss my hubby a lot it's almost unbearable- but I still do feel that this is the right place to be right now though 2 }*the very annoying how bout we don't talk about it thing is that we finally this weekend will be closing on our house-- first the buyers couldn't get their transfer papers in time so we extended it, than her father died so we extended it again, and to top it all off in august we had some major hail storm so than we had hail damage to the roof that we have had to pay to replace-- so it's just been a jolly ol time :) Good times, Good times :)

Anyways back to the move-- luckily we had our amazing nephews come and help us out-- we needed those muscles :)

They're great kids-- the kind of kids that you hope your kids will grow up to be-- I've been asking my sis in law for tips :)

We had my chairs on parade during the move I've decided I need more :) I have a love affair going on with chairs for some reason

After we had it all packed, and even though we had to leave at 2am we decided (actually I begged) to make a trip to Manitou springs with the Bastians. Colorado springs is so pretty during the summer- I so love the everyday afternoon rain storms. :(

I love love the architecture of manitou springs-- so many places to shoot pictures-

Definitely missing taking pics with Trish-- best times ever! :)

But honestly I'm missing this guy the most-- I'm only left with half of me and sadly it's the sucky half right now :)

next up..... Idaho :)

The Fireplace Redo

2010-07-10T04:56:00.000-07:00

So when we moved into the house one of the major things that was frustrating and really a bugger was the fireplace--- I mean a Sheetrock mantle?? really? Who ever thought those looked good? and the hole for the T.V. didn't fit Dave's "man" T.V. :) So I knew I wanted to change it- but I didn't know what into? I didn't want to spend to much money either or do any major floor plan changes-- So needless to say it sat there forever - I couldn't figure out a way to make it look better-- well a way that both me and Dave could agree on too :)

Here's the Before:

I did immediately paint the walls and trim when we moved in so it looked a little better :) but I don't have any pictures of that- or how horrible it looked when we had our tv just sitting on the ledge-- with the wires hanging everywhere-- It was great- let me tell ya. :)

Here it is Now:

This was the first project that I didn't really have at least a vague plan for-- We really just flew by the seat of our pants on this one--- One day still looking at the eyesore the next demoing it cuz' I couldn't stand it anymore :)

gotta love a sexy man with a saws-all :)

When we finally figured out kinda what we were gonna do there was some major angle math figuring involved-- all I can say is that I am glad Dave is so smart cuz' I would have never been able to figure it out

We did live with it like this for awhile-- while we tried to figure out how we were gonna finish it :) Fun times- fun times.

But hallelujah-- It's done-- I like it- Our T.V. fits-- and really we spent only about $100 to do it--What do you think yay or Nay on the redesign? :)

Linking to these parties
Fingerprints on the fridge
Shabby Nest
Tidy Mom
Remodelaholics
Just a Girl

BasFosFam Olympics

2010-07-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first ever BasFosFam Olympics

The sky is blue, the wind is warm, and it looks to be a great evening for this lovely competition.

So let's bring out the competitors

First off to compete is The ninja-
For those just joining us here's a refresher on the first round course-----

They must toss a ball 10 feet into the gigantic bucket, than somersault to the barn and back, than 3 spins round the bat, run to the barn and back, followed by 10 knee slaps.

Looks like the ninja is off to a great start-- amazing ball throw got it in on the second try and just look at those somersaults--- Amazing!

But he may have got docked a few points for not keeping the bat touched to the tee-- :(

But I think the judges were fans of the huge smile during the knee slaps-- may have got a couple bonus points for that.

Next up is our amazing Speedy--

Check out that throw - WOW

and I now know where he gets his name speedy from.

I believe the judges had a hard time keeping track of the blur that he was-- way to go speedy!

Next up to bat is the legendary Hopps,

She started out with some great throws but when she got to the somersaults there was quite the hesitation- we soon learned that she had never done a somersault-- Say What?!

needless to say she pressed on and of course caught the judges attention with her amazing knee slap hops at the end.

Round 2 consists of doing amazing leaps all the way across the lawn, followed by 5 spins around the tee-- batting the ball past a certain point, running like an animal to the barn and back, finished up by having to bounce the ball into the bucket. Let's check in with the contestants.

Here's our Leapster Contestant

Looks like she's getting serious and stretching out those joints

We'll see if that helps

She's started off to a great start with the leaps- Really covering some ground there

Oh though that batting the ball has really messed her up, I don't know, she may get some good points though for her amazing bunny hop to the barn, we'll have to see.

Next up we have Mr. Insane-- he did very well in the first round we'll see if he has the same luck here

Yes-- I believe he will look at that form-- and definitely that ostrich run will get him points

The Ninja may just give everyone a run for their money though

Check out his amazing ninja skills showing through in his leaps

look at the air he has caught

Yes I do believe he is going to be a strong contender in this round.

But we can't count out the Hopps either

She had some great airplane form going on.

Yes I'll say all the contenders did wonderful- They even earned a smile from the hard faced mini ellie-simon

but we'll see it looks to finish off this contest everyone must compete in a Chicken fight-(one hand in your pocket one knee behind you and you must hop and knock over your fellow contenders)

It looks like...

It looks like.... well...

It looks like were all Nerds, being super silly but having the greatest BBQ yet! :)

been doin

2010-07-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Wow-- Life has become busy but slow :) makes total sense right--- and I'm sick of my blog design but haven't had the time to delve into code and change it up :( so I've not really wanted to post until I changed it but alas after weeks I figured I prolly should.

I really have tons of stuff I could post and show you-- our house is pretty much finished-- well finished as much as were going to make it since it's on the market now and were wanting to move, so I have some great before and afters I could show, and also this week I've sewed three new dresses for Ellie and I'm in the middle of sewing her blessing dress so I could show you those--

but-- well I won't till later-- instead I'll show you random pictures of our summer so far :) Sweet just what you always wanted right? O- well-- sometimes I just have to show off my cute little kiddos- especially for the grandparents to see :)

First off we went and enjoyed a sweet summer night going out taking pictures in an amazing, beautiful location.--- ran out of light though cuz' well getting anywhere on time with a little one is a little challenging :)

Than of course we have the BBQ's---

and parks--lots of parks-- gotta get that energy out of the kids somehow ("Hey Payton I have a great idea- why don't you run all the way around the park and I'll time you and see how fast you can run" "Ya it'll be great-- you'll love it" :)

and lastly just watching this little cutie chunk up--- Love it!

(and I'm also really enjoying the smiles now-- they seem to make it all worth it )

Life is great and man do I feel blessed with so many many blessings plus its SUMMER!!! who isn't happy during the summer? huh? huh?

Three.

2010-06-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

Three is hard.
I love it- but it's hard-- I've not been able to keep up on everything and sorry to say my blog has been kinda, well really, low down on the list lately-

So to all who's asked questions- I've heard ya and I promise I'll reply soon, and those who have featured me-- thank you thank you so much-- I'm trying to get there and post what I need to post. Soon I promise :)

Anyways back to three :)
I swear I've lost all my memory- I can't even seem to have a conversation where I don't lose my train of thought at least once while having it. Anyone else experience this?
And the postpartum rollercoaser-- Come on!-- I swear one day I'm to the point of being insanely giddy and chatty cathy, to the next being so depressed that I don't want to hardly talk and nothing seems worth doing :) I'm waiting for the normal me to return-- so's Dave :)
But so far the hardest part of having three is the learning not to be the Mrs. Control it all.

See I make lists-- Lots of lists-- lists all over the place-- we're list happy over here---come join the makin lots of lists party..

and for some reason I receive such satisfaction crossing off those little bullets-- It's my secret addiction-- I can't wait to cross them off-- Oh the sweet bliss I get when I slowly cross out that line :)
but well having three has made that list crossing off so SLLOWWW-- if I get one or two done a day it's like hallelujah let's do the happy dance :)

And the house cleaning and staging( cuz' we're trying to sell our home now)--

well it's taken awhile-- (Dave left this for me in the dust one morning :) to my defense I had just sanded all the doors in our house to paint them when this occurred :)

Than there's the dressing and care of the kiddo's

Brynley for sure has had quite the unique choice of outfits lately, and I'll admit the lunch meal has pretty much been replaced with "Just eat whatever you want and can reach" and Dave of course has had to help a lot lately-- course he's just amazing like that and always helps usually.

Of course these are the joys of motherhood-- and really the blessings. I'd say they far outweigh the cons,
but when your feeding the baby and you've just cleaned the house spotless, (and I mean cleaned- cleaned all day and all night so that there is not a speck of dirt or clutter) and you hear your kiddo's whispering in the kitchen "shh- don't touch anything-- don't tell mom" Your patience is really tried---

cuz sure enough you'll find this-- and mud and dirt everywhere :)

due note they are still alive-- I didn't kill them-- I remembered that having them is more meaningful to me than a clean house-- but it was touch and go there for a moment :)

Oh the joys of three-- please say I'll get the hang of this eventually :) cuz I haven't even mentioned the shopping-- we won't go there on this blog-- it's a very very dark place- and this blog is very PG :) eventually though right? Right?

How to Paint Doorknobs

2010-06-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

The Easy & fast way to Paint Doorknobs

First off you need some beautiful dated gold doorknobs to paint

aren't they all nice and shiny and very much gold-- not really my cup of tea

The Supplies

Auto primer

Brushed Metallic- oil rubbed bronze

Protective non yellowing clear finish

total supply cost-- around $8

Step 1

- Lightly sand the doorknobs- (It really is pretty easy to scratch the lovely gold finish so this step isn't as painful as you'd suppose except when you have a lot of doorknobs than it gets pretty darn boring)

Step 2

-Spray Primer

Step 3

-Spray color

Step 4

-Spray protective finish

Yep it pretty much doesn't get any easier than this

plus $8 isn't bad for all new doorknobs-

Also since I did some test knobs 8 months ago I can tell you that they hold up great and still look like new.

This post brought to you by the so challenging

"typing and mousin it up with the left hand cuz' i'm holding and feeding the baby" position

You should all feel very special :)

The cutting of thee hairs.

2010-05-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

I did the wifey kinda thing and harrassed the hubby till he trimmed his goatee-- This is what I got.

I admit we're a little sleep deprived-- okay a lot sleep deprived-- but I couldn't stop laughing

I'd say he's a cross between an Uncle Earl and looking like a crazy child molester person-EWWwww.

as I showed my Sister in Law this she had a great one of my brother-- he had the chops and everything-- I'm a little confused by guys (or maybe it's just guys in my family) fascination with this style-- maybe though it's just their fascination with how badly this grosses us girls out.

I'm glad it didn't last long-- only a few hours :)

On another note-- I cut my hair too-- I had to take advantage of my amazing Sis in Law being here--

She's great, she totally understands my "uhhh ya ummm I don't know, short, long, darker, highlights, just some sorta change" mumblings-- She whips out the scissors and her colors and by the end I always love it-- course you have to put up with her saying "oh my gosh your hair is so thin" cuz' she always cuts thick coarse dark hair- and any blonde is gonna have thin hair compared to that :) I also was in trouble cuz' it's been almost a year since she cut my hair last and I wanted to wait for her---"your ends, oh my gosh, look at the condition of your hair" :) I do love my Sis- in laws honesty though-- it makes life fun.

Payton was my wonderful photographer-- he's gonna be great someday--

he kept directing me on what faces to do.

"Do a serious face mom"

"Now a silly face"

I got some good giggles out of him with this one :)

anyways I have to get back to enjoying this

and painting the rest of these suckers in our house---

(I'm going to post soon a quick tutorial on how I painted them from the nasty gold to this yummy goodness--)

Sooo Tired

2010-05-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ellieana Lyn

May 6th 7lbs 10oz 21"long

She's here! And we are relaxing and loving and just plain enjoying her.

So please forgive my slacking, but man I am tired, after four years of always getting a full nights sleep, waking up every few hours is killing me.

I figured after two weeks now though I should probably post some pics so great grandma can see her :)

The Story:

So after forever it seemed waiting and waiting and having contractions consistently, going into the hospital twice, being dilated to a 5 and still sent home we were beyond frustrated-- Dave's parents actually came early to help us after a late night phone call on our way home from the hospital ( we may or may not have been a little emotional) For some reason I was dilating but wouldn't efface more than 50 percent we even went and hiked Helen Hunt falls with Dave's parents when they got here, still had contractions but nothing changed-- and I just felt like she was ready and I was ready, so at my next Drs. apt we asked to be induced-- I'd had enough (emotionally/physically) -- so off to the hospital we went. They started pit on me at 3:00 and "oh hello same contractions I'd been having for the last few weeks and same timing" at 7 the nurse checked me still at 5 and still only 50% effaced -you don't want to know my angry thoughts at this point :) --- well the nurse asked me if I wanted my epidural yet and I always try to go as long as I can without it and I wasn't horrible uncomfortable yet so I said no- she left the room and no more than 5 min passed and I was dying - my contractions went from the usual, to I was ready to bang my head against the guardrail, oh wait I did do that :)

So we got the nurse had to wait 15min. for the anesthesiologist, got the epidural in-- "oh thank heavens for the relief, I can think again, I don't want to kill myself, I'm gonna live, I can talk and breath again- oh I love you dear epidural" then the nurse checked me again I was fully effaced and at a 10 (Dave was a little glad that we were there though, he was pretty sure if we were home even with only a ten min. drive to the hospital 20min. only and he might have been the one to deliver this baby in the car) So I was now ready to push but my water still hadn't broken, so the nurse was suiting up and was going to deliver the baby still in the water-- (which I had never heard of doing but I guess it happens and in some cultures is considered good luck or that the child is destined for greatness) Than the Dr. showed up-- (It wasn't my Dr. but the one that was on call for that day and I did not like her-- Dave called her the linebacker because she is so rough and if I was more of a forward person I probably would have punched her when she checked me she was that rough.) Anyways she didn't want the baby born in the water sac--"It'll break all over us" she said. The funny thing was was when she went to check me to make sure the nurse was right she was rough like always and broke the water bag and it sprayed all over her-- I couldn't help but laugh and think that she deserved it. So I did mention to this Dr. that with my second child I had her in two pushes-- she didn't listen-- she was all like okay we'll just have you give us one push, so I did and She made me stop halfway through the contraction cuz' obviously the baby was coming out - That was painful-- so she could suit up so I had to sit through more contractions waiting for her to get ready- can you tell how impressed I was with this Dr. anyways one more push and little Ellieana was here. Dad was extremely happy to finally get to cuddle his little girl, She's been such a good baby too-- All my crazy fears and anxiety about having a newborn were kinda silly-- the no sleep still sucks though, I can't wait for a full nights rest again-- but I'll try my best to enjoy those middle of the night feedings and not be to grouchy.

Payton just loves and adores her-- I actually have to limit holding time-- he wants to hold her all the time- I'm pretty sure he gets that from his daddy. He also is being true to his word and is calling her Pretty girl all the time- he insists it's her middle name.

Brynley loves her too but is having a hard time not just calling her "the baby" but Ellie.

Overall we are loving having her here-- and gradually I feel like I'm getting back to being Me again-- next step is back to house projects and getting ready to Sell-- it shall be fun :)

Prepared & Now Excited!

2010-04-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

So I've been slightly crazy this week-- I deep cleaned my whole house at 10:00p.m. last night and have just finished up alot of the little loose ends I've had and now I am so excited to have our little girl-- I feel finally prepared!

The car seat is sitting in our room and every time I look at it it seems to me like it's just as excited and anticipating being used again :) cuz all car seats think like that right.

Anyways one of the projects that I finally finished was Ellie's dress-- I started this over easter-- ya it's taken me that long.-- but in my defense I did sew two pettiskirts in that time frame also.

Anyways I love how it turned out and had to show it to you.

The cute little bloomers with ruffles

I love the little booties that are reversible--

and strangely I loved making them too-- I'm eager to make some more :)

I made her a little newborn bracelet to but I don't know if it'll fit cuz' it fits Brynley :) O-well.

And a cute little flower headband with pearls--

I love pearls, they just seem so classic and yet vintage at the same time.

Here's option number 2 for the dress though-- a little bit more of a modern flair

Which one do you like the best?

The Vintage or Modern?

How to make a Pettiskirt

2010-04-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

First things First-- Do you really want to do this? I mean really?

I was one of those people that thought oh it can't be that bad-- but ya it can---

If you don't have the time-- seriously don't do this--- you'll pull all your hair out-- there really is a reason that they are so expensive-- These suckers are so time consuming!

But if your anything like me you probably won't listen to me :) and maybe it'll be easier for you :) plus your just tempted by all that sweet fluffy goodness, admit it, you so want one, even for yourself.

I of course I have to give credit to the two sites that helped me a ton

sew mama sew forum

and this page

Even with them I am such a visual learner that I literally had to draw up what in the world they were explaining-- Dave of course had quite the laugh at me session, as for half an hour I sat and talked to myself as I tried to figure it out and explain it out loud to myself and then draw diagram after diagram-- but I got it, I figured it out- it's all good now :)

What you'll need:
   *Nylon Chiffon - (do not use Poly Chiffon because if frays) I could not find any stores around me that carried it so I ordered mine from AFC- express (I do not really know how many yards you'll need cuz' it varies so much with the length you want, size, how fluffly ect. I ordered 10 yards for the two skirts I made and ya shipping sucks!)
   *Some fabric for your waistband-- satin charmuese is what most people use
   *Definitely a rotary cutter and mat-- unless you're really insane
   *Elastic, thread, a knowledge of how to do a gather stitch, and if your so lucky also a ruffler foot

So Step #1 is figure out the measurements

The waist length is usually 3" to 6" long (-- I went with 3 1/2" on Brynleys {who's 4} and Ellies {newborn} is only 3" long--) also you need to measure around their waist.(Bryn's waist was 21" Ellies 14")

Than you have to whip out all your super amazing math skills--- since the waistband will be folded in half you need to double the waist length (3+3) and add a 1/4" seam allowance on each edge (3+3+1/4" +1/4"= 6 1/2")
For the width you take the size of your waist and times it by 2 (14"+14"= 28")
Congrats you now have the waistband measurements--sweet!

For the Two Tiers you figure out how long you want the skirt to be (Bryn's was 14 1/2" and Ellies was 9")
Than you subtract the waist length and divide it by 2 for the two tiers and add 1/2" for both seam allowances on each side (9"-3"=6" / 2 = 3" +1/2" = 3 1/2" tier pieces)
Walah-- you now have your tier measurements!

As for the Ruffle fluff just cut 2" or 2 1/2" strips-- I like that one, no stinkin math to do.

Step #2 Cut, Cut, Cut, Cut

-You need your waistband
-Than cut your tiers your width measurement (Ellies was 3 1/2") and the length will be the length of your fabric selvage to selvage. You need 6 top tiers and 12 bottom tiers so a total of 18.
-Than Cut your Ruffle fluff 2" to 2 1/2" wide by the length of fabric selvage to selvage--- (I cut about 130 for the two skirts I made)

Step #3-- Assemble the Skirt

A- Sew the Ruffle Fluff and the Tiers end to end to end also if your waistband fabric frays sew a small hem on it to prevent it from fraying.

B- Sew a gather stitch on your Ruffle fluff pieces and than gather for the rest of your life (if you have a ruffler foot consider yourself supremely blessed)

C- Sew your Ruffle Fluff on to your bottom tier and than sew a gather stitch on the bottom tier

D- Gather your bottom tier to fit the top tier than sew together and sew gather stitch on top tier

E- Repeat steps with the the Inside Tier Layers than gather and sew to the waistband till you have something that looks like this

F- Sew the ends together so you have a tube

G- Fold in half and sew the encasing for your elastic (about 1" wide), cut elastic to the waist measurement and insert elastic-- (thank you whomever invented the safety pin- your a life saver) and close off.

Wahoo! you are now done-- make sure and wake your girl up at 2 a.m so she can try it on-- and than just sit back and enjoy watching her love and love and love her new princess skirt!