first day...

Last night the kids were so excited! After showers they each picked out what they were going to wear and laid it out on their bedroom floors!

Zach's outfit...

Noah's outfit...

Bailey's outfit...

This morning I packed 3 lunches...3...I just can't believe that I have 3 kids old enough to be in school all day long! We were ready with plenty of time to take my mandatory first day of school pictures!

Bailey- 1st Grade

Zach- 3rd Grade

Noah- 4th Grade
What the heck?....who is this kid...Noah looks so grown up in this picture. This was the first year that Noah was a little too "big" to have me hug him at the bus stop...too "big" to have me do his hair...and too "big" to wear both straps of his backpack...

Today marks the first time in 5 years of having kids going to school that I won't have a kid in either preschool or kindergarten...no more hurrying home by 12:30pm cutting into the middle of my errands. I almost don't know what to do with myself with just 2 kids all day long....

I can't wait to see them get off the bus...
I can't wait to hear all about their first day adventures...
I can't wait to hear what Bailey thought about eating in the lunch room for the first time...
Was she scared? Did she know where to put her lunch box? How was recess?
I can't wait to hear how having Noah picking up Bailey from her class after school worked...
I can't wait to hug them all and welcome them back home...
Of course we will answer all of these burning questions over an ice cream cone...because that is tradition...

I can't wait...

rainbows and unicorns...

Bailey Ann is 6!!

This year she requested a rainbow unicorn party...hard theme you might think, but I quickly discovered that doing rainbow anything is pretty easy. There are a ton of ideas out there and so I picked a few fun ones and got to work.

It always amazes me how a few dollars in balloons and paper can transform a room. We just blew up balloons and used string to hang them from the ceiling along with matching streamers.

Here is the "girl" version of the balloon wreath and presents that I made. It was SO fun being able to use them both in one week!

Goody bags for the guests: cute pinwheels, a rainbow note pad, rainbow crayon, rainbow slap bracelet (yes they still make them!), and candy.

For our main activity the girls got to each paint their own t-shirt. I found plain white shirts at Walmart for $3 each and covered them each in a freezer paper unicorn stencil. I got the clipart on line and blew it up...traced it onto the freezer paper, cut out the shape, and then ironed the paper onto the shirt....seriously this was the coolest idea ever. I even cut the paper large enough that it covered almost the entire shirt so that paint could only get on the unicorn opening...it was so fun to watch each girl choose which rainbow colors to use. Some painted the hooves with "nail polish" others had fun swirling colors together. One thing I noticed right away was that girls are SO much more careful than boys. I could have NEVER done this with a bunch of 6 year old boys...we would have had paint everywhere. The girls were so dainty with their brushes...no one got anything on their clothes and not really even on their hands...amazing...I love girl parties!!

A few rounds of red rover and the girls were ready for opening presents and having cupcakes!

Because Bailey was turning 6 she was able to invite 6 friends. It was the perfect amount! That is one reason that we wait for the first friend party until they are 6...all of the friends were HER friends not my friends kids...

Bailey is not a huge cake fan so she requested cupcakes instead...(I know I tried to explain that it is pretty much the same thing, but she didn't believe me!) I split the cake mix into 4 bowls, dyed each one a different color and then layered the batter into the cupcake papers. It was super easy and the girls loved them!

Here are all the girls with their creations! Parties are a LOT of work...which is why I am glad they only get to have friend parties on even birthdays!

Bits about Bailey:
She loves to play with little things: play mobile, little princesses, Legos
She loves pink and purple and was thrilled with the unicorn pillow pet she got
She loves to play with friends, but she also really REALLY enjoys playing alone in her room
She loves to have her toe nails painted
She can be quite assertive, but has a tender heart
She almost always is willing to share with any of her brothers

Happy Birthday Bailey girl!

reflections...

Today Travis and I celebrate 11 years of eternal marriage! It feels like just yesterday we were engaged...and yet I blink and here we are...5 kids, 4 moves, 2 jobs...11 years...

the evolution of our love:

elbow rubbies at the psych table
devotional finger rubbies
popped snow tubes
talks on the balcony
a kiss in a potato field
a drink spit across a table
an email...a date set
email love notes
a ring on a hill
talks about bugs
a breath taking kiss on the grass
a "10 second" rule
3 roses on my bed
a swollen eye
a ride in an elevator
hand in hand
priceless celestial minutes
frozen smiling faces
love in the mountains
first day of school
a picnic in the canyon
two little blue lines
busy days
Logan joy
precious son
richly blessed
family of 3
hands held
poo laughs
more little blue lines
quick move
new life
unifying changes
tears shed
solid love
pitter patter joy
new home
first tree
bye bye finger tip
silly daddy dances
quite moments alone together
survivor love
little pink lines
happiness
job changes
new house
stronger love
deeper devotion
growing family
scripture sillies
muddy messes
water fun
snuggles in bed
more little blue lines
the Lord shapes the back to fit the burden
stretches and more love
more little blue lines
stronger than ever
family of 7
devotion to the Lord
happiness beyond measure
silly kisses
silly dances
talking with just eyes
tears of joy this day

you are mine forever

birthday decor...

I just had to share this picture of some birthday decorations that I made a few months ago. This was the first time I got to use them. I made a boy version and a girl version of both the presents and the balloon wreath. I think they turned out super cute. I plan on using them for every birthday.

our baby is one...

I can't believe that my last baby is one! It feels like just yesterday that he joined our family! He is such a mild sweet baby and our family would not be complete without him! Yesterday we celebrated with our family and had cake and ice cream. Owen was such a serious eater when it came to digging into the cake. He really REALLY enjoyed it, but was serious non the less! Today I took him into the doctor for his 1 year well check...he is definitely my smallest...

Weight: 18 lbs 13 oz
Height: 28 1/4
Head: 45 cm

a kit...a kit...

page created using the new kit
Fair Week
from
gg digital designs

I am still working on 2007 and this kit was perfect for these pictures of the kids at the carnival...I know that the kit was designed with a county/state fair or rodeo in mind but this kit is SO versatile that it works for just about anything bright and fun. I also used one of her new templates from her new package... I don't know how I would stay so caught up on scrapping without using a template. It cuts WAY down on time. So anytime I see a new one I just have to snag it...you can pick it up HERE

recreate...

So the other day I saw this super cute idea on my new favorite site PINTEREST and I thought, "I think I can make that!" So I did! I think they turned out really cute. I plan on framing them and putting them up in our loft. Yea for cute ideas!

a new obsession...

Oh my word!! Have you heard of Pinterest? Oh if you haven't you MUST check it out!

One of my favorite things to do on the internet is look at craft blogs and get ideas...ideas for projects, home decorations, fun things to do with kids, holiday traditions, etc... Usually when I find a good idea I download or save the picture of the project into a folder on my desktop. I have TONS of folders filled with ideas. The only problem is that if I ever want to go back and view the idea on the origional site I got it from I can't...usually that is because I am not very good at keeping a note of where I got it from...and even then I may have the site, but not the exact date it was posted and that can lead to tons of time searching for it...but Oh not So with Pinterest. When you find something cute you just "pin" it onto one of your profile boards and it not only captures the picture, but the exact location at the same time!! I have had so much fun even just coming up with the type of boards I want...I know I am weird like that...organizing even virutally is thrilling!!

You can link to your friends Pinterest boards or cute crafters too! I could spend hours...It is so super fun! Anything on the web is "pinable"...oh the amount of ideas you can hoard are endless!

If you love it and end up creating a profile I would love to link up...

To link to me click the P ; )