{ Christmas 2012 }

We had a great Holiday Season this year. 

Christmas Eve was spent with my wonderful family and friends.

My kids were awesome this year, every gift they opened, they loved and were grateful for. The phrase "Thank You" was flowing on Christmas day. 

I loved it!

I'd would like to say THANK YOU to all of you who sent us cards, I loved getting each and every one of them. 

I am going to try and send out something one of these days. 

But at the rate I'm going they will be a Valentine's Card. :) 

Here are some pictures of our Snowman themed tree this year 

(a couple are from Christmas Eve and the rest I took on the 26th when I took her down). 

How is it that the Christmas Tree comes down WAY faster then putting her up? But my house is back to normal. 

In fact it feels a little naked. 

I suppose I should get to getting some winter decor up.

I hope you all had a great Christmas! 

The next couple posts will be crafty, I promise.

{ Christmas Craft }

I had a few minutes to whip up a Christmas craft and this is the one that my Friend Nanette and I choose to do.

WE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!

Seriously, this was the easiest thing to make and looks totally amazing when you're done.

Items used:

Foam Board

Cheap-o foam paint brush

Black Craft Paint for foam board edges

Print made at local Copy place.

Inspiration was from HERE

PRINT PDF can be purchased HERE

We made the 16x20 size. 

 Seriously, this would make a great last minute gift for someone. 

I gave one to Addison's Pre-School Teacher and she loved it.

I have another Christmas Craft that I will be making this week, but I cannot post about them yet as they will be Christmas Gifts.

 But I promise to share after deliveries have been made.

Thanks Nan for crafting with me!

{ C's Baptism }

Do you ever have an event in your life, where you are so busy getting everything ready that you take hardly any pictures? 

Well, that my friends was how Corbin's baptism went. 

Don't get me wrong it was an awesome, spiritual day. 

We combined his baptism with some friends in our ward and the program turned out really, really nice. The music was amazing, and I cried happy tears through most of it. 
I was mad at myself for not getting many pictures but here's what I did manage to capture.

I made his invitation in Photoshop CS3. 

Can you believe these shots I got for a kid that was hating this photo session with his mama! 

Thankfully, for Corbin it only lasted 10 minutes.

The CTR banner I made using some brown shopping bags from Wally's that I cut to size and ran through my printer. The white pom pom's I made with my friend's Nanette and Danielle. 

The rest of the of the filler was loaned to us by Nan. 

We had lots of treats for after the baptism, but sadly this is the only shot I got with my nice camera of the mini pumpkin cupcakes I made.

photo via android
This photo was taken with my cell phone. Most all the food was eaten, we only went home with a handful of the mini pumpkin cupcakes.

Here are my boys, Corbin was so darn excited.

We are so happy that he is Choosing The Right!

We want to thank all of our Family that drove so far to support Corbin, we love you all.

Thank you to my fabulous friends for baking, loaning, crafting and listening.

 You are my glue.

{ ARG! To The Pirate Party! }

Here is the invitation I made for Corbin's Birthday.

Corbin had picked out these on etsy, but we were running out of time trying to convo back and forth with our 3 hour time difference and I had to get these done asap. 

So, I did a little more looking around on Etsy and found the kit. 
(Pirate kit was found via another Invitation seller's Etsy shop, 
she stated what kit she used and where it could be purchased from.)

So, 1.5 hours later in Photoshop (i know i am slow) 

I had whipped up a very similar version based on her super cute layout.

Now to figure out the cake, goodie bags, games, and, and, and......

Invitation completely inspired from HERE.

Pirate kit purchased from HERE

(She also has a cute pirate girl version as well, just type "pirate" in the search box) 
Free Fonts that I used: Blackladder ITC
                                    Century Gothic
Click on the font name to download them for yourself.

EDITED: I take no credit for the design of this invitation. 
The invitation was completely inspired from HERE.
Yes, I changed a few things to suite my own taste,
 I do not sell this invitation on Etsy in any way, shape or form.

{ 2-Wheels! }

 Guess who learned how to ride a 2 wheel bike WITHOUT training wheels last month? 

Yup, this little dude.

He is such a stud, his birthday is this week. 

So a pirate party in in order, you know what I'll be doing this week. 

I'll post his invite I made tomorrow, right now I have errands to run.

{ Happy Birthday #42 }

Just a little shout out for my main man who turns 42 today. 

Love this man more then he knows. 

Glad he's mine forever.

Love you Babe & Happy Birthday! 

{ 9/11 }

Our family will NEVER forget.

The following pictures were some I took with my phone at the
Tri-Cities  9.11 Memorial in Kennewick, Washington last month.

Seeing a part of what used to be one of the Twin Towers in tangible form is incredible.

To know that people built & walked among these pieces.

To know the strength that building had.

Then, to remember the hate that brought it down.

But being able to watch via the internet The National 9/11 Memorial being built from that hallowed ground in New York City, just goes to prove that the human Spirit may bruise, but it can never be broken.

Our thoughts & prayers go out to all the families affected by 9/11.

{ She's Growing Up }

My baby will be 5 this Halloween and proof that she is growing up is in the following picture. 

Yup, that's right she went and lost her first tooth the night before she went back to school. 

Sigh......

{ First Day Mugshots }

I am a fiercely devoted mom who loves her kids.

But, School is a lovely thing.

{ Super Saturday Crafts }

I was asked to help again with Super Saturday this year, I've been struggling with what craft I should do. 

Here is the first craft I though about doing: Round 1

Then, I went through all the steps and decided that sewing was never going to happen on my watch while teaching a SS class. 

(I'd rather give birth naturally to a 9lb baby (i should know i have done it 2 times) 

Then I moved onto these 2 crafts from this Etsy Store: Round 2

But, sadly time wasn't on my side, nor the shipping prices for 6 sample pieces (3 of each, unfinished) now, if I were only ordering 1 piece I would have been golden. 

So, I decided to move onto the simpler side of things. 
Round 3- ding, ding. 

Here are the 2 items I will be teaching:

 The idea came from Jen, she is such a sweetheart and has some pretty rocking craft ideas along with some super cute 
Activity day ideas. 

Okay, so her blog is pretty much stocked with cute ideas. 

You can read her blog here: Cinnaberry-Suite.

I loved this Temple Silhouette from the first time I saw it, and decided, hey we could make this!

 I've been reading Clarendone Lane for a while now. This gal has such great style and her home decor is awesome, she also has an Etsy shop, so if you want to order a Salt Lake Temple Silhouette you can order them from her Etsy Store.

I pretty much went for more of a "use year round" type of craft, instead of going so holiday. The Big Boss's wanted more of a gift type craft so that's what they are getting. 

Are any of you attending a Super Saturday this year? 

What will you be making?

Well, I better run, we have a laundry list of things to get done today, 

these poor kids of ours are gonna wish they were in school today! 

We parents love a good holiday. :)

{ Mom, I Mustache You A Question. }

Well, my brood came home from school yesterday and happily they had a great day! All I can say is phew, & thank goodness, I was a little nervous for them. More for Jentry, being it was his first day in High School (man I'm getting old).

As I was cleaning up the dishes from dinner last night, Corbin informed me that he needed to take a water bottle to school.
 He then sweetly asked me if I could buy one at the store with his name on it. 
I told him yes, 
All the while knowing there was no such thing.  

So what's a Mom to do? 
I dusted off my Cricut/Vinyl and cut out a hat, mustache & of course his name.
I think it turned out pretty cute MANLY and I'm sure NO ONE in his class will have one like it.

Please don't mind the water spots, I washed it out before I made it all fabulous.

I so love this, and it took maybe 15 minutes to do. 
There's nothing sweeter then a quick easy craft I tell you. 
Okay, sure it's manly but it's also freaking cute... I had to say it.

I am slightly stoked for him to see it in the a.m.

I just ♥ this sweet boy of mine.

Here are links to the products I used: 
Just click on them & they will open in a new window. 
Mustache- DB Disguise 1
Hat- DB Disguise 2
Name Font- GUESS WHAT
Program- Sure Cuts Alot aka SCAL

{ 1st Day Back To School }

Our annual back to school photo.

Corbin 2nd  ~ Brinley 5th  ~ Parker 7th  ~ Jentry 9th

More pictures to come later.

The Border Date Font on the photo is actually a brush, here is the link:
Three Sixty Five Days Photo and Journal Overlays
The 2012 Font is a Freebie Font: 
Sketch Font

{ Mama, Mama I'm Coming Home.. }

This boy has been gone for 9 long days.

Parker with his -now gone- as in went to an actual farm- Rooster Albert.

 Lucky for us, he is on his way home today. 

I do believe that Lake Powell has had him long enough.

Thank you K family for taking him on a trip he will always remember. 

 Oh, how I've missed this sweet, mischievous boy.

P.S.- He's home just in time for school to start

TOMORROW!

What is it with me and music titles?

I know I love me some tunes, but honestly, I've got to stop! ☺

{ ♪♫ You Make Me Feel Like Scratching ♫♪ }

You know that song 

♫ You make me feel like dancing by Leo Sayer? ♫

Well, with a little switch-a-roo of lyrics, this is the song that is going through my head, 
all the live long day (several days for that matter) because...

Drum roll, please

We are dealing with a bit of this in our house at the moment:

Photo via web

2 of my 5 kiddos have this...

It makes me itchy just thinking about it.

(which is awful because I think about it all the stinking day long!)

It also makes me feel dirty for some weird reason.

Hey? Maybe it's because we have a 

DISEASE!!!!

I'd like to take this moment and personally say thank you.

Thank you, to whomever it was that shared this;

Little. 
Red.
 Bumpy.
Itchy.
 Nugget.
 With us & our county, yes I said COUNTY!

Seriously, you rock.

(no, not you Christian D.)

Well, off I go to wash my hands for the 964,541,235th time.

For your viewing pleasure:

I know, it's freaking awesome right!

{ Update Much? }

Yup, I am still here, and have decided to take a little different route as to my way's O' blogging. 

Hopefully, what I have in mind will feel like less pressure. 

I always feel, if I blog it has to be this great project or amazing craft. 

I just can't do it.

 So, it's back to the basics with my blogging.

Will there be a project all the time? 

Probably not.

Will there be more updates even if they are short snippets here and there? 

That is my hope.

Will, I still share crafts and decor ideas?

Umm...

H
E
C

K 

YA!

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Okay, here I go!

{ Teacher Gifts ~ 2012 }

Yup, I'll admit it, I'm slow at this whole blogging gig, 

and I apologize. But our family has been dealing with some dramatic changes and sometimes you just have to be still & ignore all the outside distractions.

BUT, here I am with a few minutes to spare in my day, to share with you the teacher gifts we made at the end of this school year.

I've always loved the look of silverware necklaces & I secretly coveted several of them on Etsy. Sadly my checking account couldn't afford them x4 & frankly, coveting is bad. 

So I decided to take the silverware by the handle and make them myself 
(well, I had a little help from my man). 

Each of my kids choose what they wanted for their teachers and the above is what we came up with.

Parker, Brinley & Addison all wanted necklaces for their teachers and Corbin choose a custom key ring for his. We loved how they turned out and so did the teachers.

So Thank You Teachers , for your unfailing & never ending support/hard work you put in for our kids.

We love, and I in particular, miss you all terribly. 

{ A Blogging What Not To Do! }

Some of you may have noticed a while back, that my blog had black/white exclamation points in the place where my pictures should have been, there's a reason for that. 

And I'm here to tell you 

what not to do...

So, it all started with me getting a new cell phone. 

Easy enough right?

So after my cell company transferred all my pictures and contacts/stuff. 

I decided to "clean house" and get rid of pictures that I really didn't need on my phone. I mean, I didn't do anything with them on my old smart phone. 

Why bother keeping them on my new, clean, crisp one.....

This is what I saw on my phone, then i got all delete happy...

So, I'm deleting (blog) pictures off my phone (insert joyful whistling here) I mean why not, they are on my blog I don't really need them on my phone. 

Fast forward a few hours.... 

and this is what I see in place of everything picture on my blog

Pretty aren't they? 

Did I puke? Cry?

Almost.

Moral of the story

Yes, Rachel your gmail account is attached to your blog "everything" on your phone. (did I think of that at the time)

Nope.

If you delete the pictures that you see on your phone that are currently on your blog. 

They no longer will be there.... 

Just leave them alone. 

Don't touch them.

Just smile and walk away. 

I'll give you one guess as to what I do in my "sparest of spare" time now-a-days.

Yes, that's right. 

I reload every stinking picture that was on my blog from

2007-2012.

Yes, it deleted everything. 

 All of my hundreds of pictures, to all my side bar gadgets as well as my paper & header.

And if you're wondering, I did check my online picasa web album.
It was empty.

( hard )Lesson Learned.

Edited to add:

If you happen to come across one of my blog posts with the cursed black box, don't worry. I'll get to it soon enough. 

But if you really, really need to see the pictures. Just shoot me an email and I'll try to get that post done a little faster.

Thanks to all of you for hanging in there with me, 

while I learn "what not to do" with my phone.

{ Moms & Muffins ~ Activity Days }

Here are a few pictures from our Moms & Muffins Brunch we did for Activity Day's. 

Everyone seemed to have a great time, and it all ran pretty smooth. We had about 15 show up. We were missing a few girls and their moms. Maybe next year.

I have to thank all my friends who helped set up and also stayed after it was over to clean up. 

You guys are awesome!!  
And a huge thanks to Nanette for letting me "shop" at her house. Love ya gal!

I didn't take all the pictures that I wanted, aka more of the decor 

(I was busy) but here are the few that I did get. 

We had the following:

Muffins; Banana nut, Lemon Poppy seed, Blueberry & 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel.

Fruit kabobs with grapes, pineapple,strawberries, honeydew melon

Fruit dip

Chocolate eclairs

Cream puffs

&  

Citrus water

This was probably our biggest activity that we have ever done. 

All our other activities that we have planned weren't nearly as "decorated".

But it sure was nice to have something pretty for all us

moms &amp our daughters.

Each of the girls gave their moms felt flowers that we made a few weeks back and a hand written note telling their mom's how much they appreciate them. 

All in all it was a great little activity.

Hope you all have a Fabulous Weekend!!

This activity was inspired from HERE

I loved all her decor (especially her banners) and this ideas was simply GENIUS!!

My thanks to The Fickle Pickle!

{ TGIF }

Long blogging nightmare of a story coming soon,

But until then....

All I can say is Thank goodness it's Friday!

Which means, it's one day closer to the weekend. 

Which means, that the Mother's Day Brunch I am working on for Activity Day's is almost done.

I have some Muffins to make and an entire primary room to set up, but thanks to my friends and their many hands, it will get done this afternoon. 
All I can say is, I'm so glad I get to work with 3 other friends with this calling. :)

Photo via Android

Photo via Android

Have a fabulous Mother's Day Weekend!


This activity inspired from here...

{ Freak Out! }

Please bear with me as I try and figure out what is going on with my blog pictures. 

A lot of my photos have an exclamation point where the picture is supposed to be. 

Just like this bugger......

I'm a little bit sick about it....

Is anyone else seeing this on their blog?
Or am I the lucky one?

{ Birthday Recap x2 }

Recap 1- So, I survived my birthday 10 days ago. 

Here's how my day unfolded:

Our well pump and pipes all got replaced.

My VT's brought flowers and a huge hunk o' chocolate cake. 

I received phone calls from friends and some family.

Loads of Facebook happy birthday's.

My sweet friend made & delivered dinner and dessert for our fam.
AND THEN:

I spent my evening at Bubbles Laundromat washing/folding 4 loads of much needed clothing.

I have to say the weekend/week of my b-day started off not so great, but a HUGE thanks to my friends and family for making it a bit better. 

I REALLY appreciate it.

Recap 2 - I realized a while back that I completely forgot to post pics of Brinley's 10th B-day way back in January. 
So, here you go, I can't believe I forgot about it! 

I. Am. Slacker. Mom. 

My mother of the year award is in the mail

 I just know it. :)

EDITED: ALL PAPER ITEMS I MADE USING PHOTOSHOP & A DIGITAL KIT!

This birthday party was completely inspired, with some shameless copying from a fellow blog friend Hilary. 
Brinley loved EVERYTHING about her party and asked if I could recreate it.
So THANK YOU Hilary, you are fabulous! 
Click here to see her amazing party! 
Her stuff is always so cute and so is her little family!

The Invitations

Girly Owl Cupcakes

Happy 10th Birthday Brinley Boo!

Sour Cream containers filled with candy, made my your's truly.

Goodie bags for the party goers.

EDITED: I used THIS tutorial for making the sour cream containers.

We also hung paper lanterns and tissue pom poms from the ceiling. 
I had to make my own streamers this year as this town I live in has NOTHING. So I bought a few plastic table covers and cut them into strips then, sewed them together with a gathering stitch. 
Turned out cute!