Happy 88th Birthday to my Grandpa

I love listening to, and reading all about my grandpa’s life stories. There’s the time he wanted to trick his roommates by telling them a fugitive was hiding in their room... to his surprise there really was. (apparently this was a story he told about his dad... I was corrected.)

Once, when he was young he put a mouse in his teachers desk.

On his wedding day, with just 3 hours before he was to be married, he was flying a plane, trying to pass a test, and didn't know if he would make it to his wedding. He was in the air-force and could only get the day off if he passed his test. This was the only day the temple would be open for the rest of the year. Luckily he passed and was able to hitchhike a ride from an ambulance who turned on his red lights and and his siren so that my Grandpa could make it to the temple on time.

The stories are of course more interesting & detailed when my Grandpa tells them.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Proper utensils

Lily likes to use a fork & a spoon simultaneously to eat her soup.

Here is a picture of her enjoying a bowl of Cheerios. She does not use a spoon nor a fork, but rather a red pen.

Sponge-bob vs. Dogs

In case you haven't heard yet, Lily loves Sponge-bob. She also loves dogs. Which is why I was planning a very cute & inexpensive dog themed birthday party for her. When I asked Lily if she wanted to have a dog birthday party, I expected for her to tell me yes. She didn't, she told me "Bum-bob" [Sponge-bob]. I should have seen it coming by the way she talks about him day & night and by the way she looks so lovingly at him as we pass by his merchandise at Target. So here's my dilemma: Do I go ahead with the cute (and inexpensive) dog themed party I was planning? or do I let Lily have her way and splurge on Sponge-bob plates, cups, & a cake? I try to let my girls choose things for themselves. Sometimes it's hard when I see a cute skirt that I'd love to buy for Ella, but instead she chooses the ugliest piece of clothing available. I really have a hard time spending my money on something I don't necessarily like. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Lily had chosen Strawberry Shortcake or Minnie Mouse... but Sponge-bob? Have you heard him laugh? I know, I'm pretty silly for calling this a dilemma, but we are on a tight budget so spending so much extra money on something I don't like has become a trivial but difficult decision for me. What would you do? Spend extra money on something you don't like to make Lily happy? or have an inexpensive dog party, and hope she likes it just as much?

How do you spell Awesome?

Tyler: How was your party at Katie's house?
Ella: Um, what does Aww (pause) ssss (pause) and um spell?
Tyler: What?
Ella: What does Aww (pause) ssss (pause) & um spell?
Tyler: Awesome?
Ella: Isn't that the coolest word?

Obviously she LOVED the party, thanks for inviting her Jami.

Finally

We finally have a hole! We bought our lot 3 years, 4 months ago... it's taken way too long for us to get to this point, but after a ton of hard work (mostly done by Tyler) we finally have a hole. It's actually a miracle that we were able to get a construction loan since we are self employed & the owner/builders, so we feel quite lucky. Hopefully the rest of the house building process goes faster. We hope to do footings early next week, then we just need our permit from the city so that we can pour our foundation.

Ella to Mom

Ella: Mom, I drew a cute picture for you. Is that nice of me?
Me: Thanks Ella! I think?

Ella draws pictures for me all the time. I'm not sure if I should be grateful for them or scared. I am being eaten by an Alligator in the picture above. Do you see the blood coming from my body into the Alligators stomach? According to Ella the things in the alligators stomach are my bones.



Ella: How do you spell Blue?
Tyler: B L U E
Ella: How do you spell Bear?
Tyler: B E A R
Ella: How do you spell Blueberry?

Autumn Leaf Garland Tutorial

*Just Fixed the links below.

1: Click Here to download my Leaves Pattern PDF file.
2: Print the file, then cut out the leaves.

3: Trace Leaf shapes onto felt. I chose felt in 4 different fall colors. I used a white pencil to trace the leaves onto the dark felt colors.

4: Cut leaf shapes out of felt.

5: Using an embroidery floss, stitch the leaf veins onto each leaf.
I used a gold colored floss which I thought was a little thick, so I pulled 3 strands out of the floss to make it easier to stitch. You could save some time, and use a gold glitter glue or fabric paint to make the leaf veins instead.

6: Decide how you want to place your leaves.
7: stitch leaves to a rick rack or ribbon.

8: Hang your new Thanksgiving garland and enjoy!

More Halloween Fun

Yesterday while Ella was at school we had Halloween playgroup. Lily was so excited to have friends over.

Today was the Halloween party up at Ella's school. I helped out with the cookie decorating. There's nothing like starting the day with a cookie at 8 in the morning.

Fast as can be & Print Winner

Ella: Mom, do you know why I LOVE T-Rex so so much?
Me: Why?
Ella: It's because I can run almost as fast as a T-Rex. Is that too awesome that I can run that fast?
Me: It's so cool. I never thought I'd have a daughter who could run almost as fast as a T-Rex.
Ella: I know. huh!

I put all the names of everyone who commented on my "Win a Print" post in a bowl to pick a winner. Congratulations to Brooke for winning a print!

Trick-or-Treat #1

Tyler's parents live in a gated community. I think I'm pretty safe to say that most the people who live in their neighborhood have grand kids. They don't ever get any trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Instead... They have a fun tradition where everyone invites all their grand children over to go trick-or-treating before Halloween. Afterward they either have games and treats or doughnuts in the clubhouse for everyone. Later this week we have our ward Trunk-or-Treat. We were thinking of skipping Halloween since we'll have so much candy, but some new friends invited us Trick-or-Treating with them. So, if for some strange reason you don't have enough candy on November 1st, you are welcome to some of ours.

Bzzzz

Our neighbors invited us to a fun Halloween party today. We decorated pumpkins with yummy candy & played games. Ella does not believe in changing her clothes during the day... which usually means craziness when I make her change into anything other than the clothes she put on in the morning. Since it took me so long to get her into this costume, I made the girls go outside to take lots of pictures.

Win a print

I'm excited to offer my new Artist Prints for sale on my website and in my Etsy shop. In celebration, I'm going to be giving a print away to a random commenter on my blog. The first print, "Little Owl Christmas" is printed on a thick 5" x 7" card-stock. Next, is my "Little Red" print which fits perfectly into an 8" x 10" frame. The "Pink Owls" print also fits into a 8" x 10" frame. All prints are UV coated to protect them from fading. In the comments below, please put which print you would like to receive if you are my random winner. (Frame not included.) I'll announce a winner a week from today. Tuesday, Oct. 27. (Click on photos to zoom in for a closer look)