Come home already!

Well, Brett comes home tomorrow and we are beyond ready to have him here. After 1 week of being a single mom, I am done and looking forward to having my husband back. We've had a few ups and downs this last week, but overall the boys did a good job being the men of the house.

Got forks?!

I got this really cute red, wooden basket at Tai Pan to place on top of my cupboards and originally I wanted a cute plate to put in it, but I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to create something instead. So here is what I came up with





And the best part is that I didn't have to buy anything for this project! I just happened to have the frames from an earlier project, the ribbon and paper were from my scrapbooking stash and the fork and spoon where from an old set of silverwear that I had intended to donate to Goodwill. So there you have it. Being crafty doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I love it!




*The cute red plate and the wicker star came from DI! I got a few other things while thrifting in Utah that I will post later on.

Field trip to the Zoo

Cameron had his field trip to the zoo on Friday and I was lucky enough to be able to go and chaperone. Now, I am not a huge fan of the zoo with it's stinky smells, but I did have a good time there with Cam and Austin. Austin is now old enough to enjoy looking at the animals and he would get so excited yelling "look, Mommy, look" at nearly every animal exhibit. So being able to share this experience with 2 of my boys made it worth the heat, the smells, walking around and around and keeping track of kids. I am a lucky Mom!

I caught a short video of his excitement:


A few more pics of our fun day.

Austin wearing his shades: Checking out the tiger: Yikes! There was no way I was getting any closer to that thing:
Ya gotta love the zoo!

30 minute fall craft

I've seen these pumpkin candle holders on the internet and I thought that I could make my own. So I went to Joanns and bought some styrofoam pumpkins in the floral section along with some fall flowers and berries. Then I picked up some candles at the dollar store and grabbed some ribbon that I had on hand. Then I went to work.

Step 1: Gather your supplies and a hot glue gun.


Step 2: Trace your candle on the pumpkin where you want it to sit.


Step 3: Carve out a little hole for your candle and set the candle into the pumpkin.



Step 4: Decorate with leaves, flowers, berries, ribbon etc.


Step 5: Set it on a candle holder on your mantle, table shelf or anywhere you like. Enjoy!



Got an extra 15 minutes? Take this craft one step farther by applying some oak gel stain to the pumpkin to tone down the orange and give it a more rustic look. Then instead of the leaves, use a fall berry sprig and voila, you've got a whole new look!






A quick, easy, inexpensive, super cute fall craft. It doesn't get any better than that! Make a bunch and show me what you do with your pumpkin candles.

Wrapping it up

Well, our vacation has quickly come to an end. Even after 3 weeks of fun filled days, I wasn't quite ready to pack it all up and head home. It is amazing to me that even with all the time that we spent there, there was still more that we wanted to do. Oh well, there's always next time right?

So what did we do? We enjoyed time with family and friends, we welcomed home a missionary, attended a wedding, shopped, played games, crafted, went to movies, shopped, ate way too much junk food, stayed up way too late, shopped and we even found some time to read a few books. Did I mention that I shopped? It was a great 3weeks. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. Here are a few pictures of all of our fun.






And I think this picture sums it all up

A conversation with Cam

Cameron: "Mom does Uncle Kevin have a wife?"
Me: "No, he's looking for one"
Cameron: "Someday I am going to look for a wife just like you."
Me: "I hope you find somebody better than me."
Cameron: "There's nobody better than you mom."

Then to Erik
Cameron: "When I get married, you probably won't want to come to my house because I am going to have a dog."
Erik: "What kind of dog?"
Cameron: "Probably a weiner dog."
Erik: "Oh"

I love my conversations with Cameron. He is the sweetest kid (most of the time).

Powerful words

I just came across this quote by Anna Quindlen. Elder M Russell Ballard quoted her in this talk

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

A good reminder for us busy Moms to slow down, quit trying to do so much and just enjoy our children. Let's not miss out on the little moments with our children.

Have you seen it?

The ultimate "chick flick". I had a girls night out last night with my mom and sisters and we went to see Mama Mia! I loved it (seriously, how could you not)! I want to go again! Anyone up for it?! What a fun, happy, upbeat movie. We left the theater laughing. We had a great time. This was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.

A Tag

My friend Lauren tagged me.

I am...a wife, a mother to 3 fabulous, busy boys, a sister, a friend.
I think...of new ways to decorate my home and new crafts that I can create.
I heart...my family, chocolate, fall, holidays, reading, crafting.
I want...my children to grow up safe, healthy and happy. To grow old with my husband.
I have...a great family
I am scared of...spiders, snakes and anything creepy, crawly.
I hate...gray gravy (sorry mom)
I miss...the mountains, snow, fall in Connecticut.
I write...e-mail, blog posts, notes to my kids.
I wish...I could be more patient.
I fear...my children growing up in a wicked world.

I tag Andrea, Karen, Simone and Sandra.

A Young Entrepreneur

Cameron had the idea today that he wanted to open a lemonade stand, but he found out that grandma didn't have any lemonade, so he opened an orange juice stand instead.

First he made a sign to advertise his goods. His sign says "Orange juice either 25 cents or $1" I guess it's whatever your willing to pay.

Second he went out in search of customers. I am proud to say that I was his first paying customer. I bought a glass of orange juice for 25 cents (and it was delicious!). Then he sold to Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Kevin and Dad.

Third he counted his earnings and now he is busy thinking up his next business venture.

Home Sweet Home

We lived back east in CT and now we're in CA, but Utah is always home to me. I love the mountains, I love the seasons in UT and I love all the fun shopping here, especially the fun craft stores, and oh, I love that my family is here too. We have had so much fun here already and time is passing too quickly. Since I have been here, I have been able to start and finish several projects. Here they are:

A cute candle holder from The Wood Connection (coming soon to my shop) I'm lovin' the glitter!


More pumpkins! I love how these turned out. (coming soon to my shop)


My sister had a Super Wednesday for enrichment and I went and made this cute plaque.


This is my version of a French bread basket called a panadiere. I made it with a placemat and a coordinating fabric.
It is perfect for holding rolls or bread for Thanksgiving dinner or....


My new cute pumpkins!


Lots more projects in the works!

Welcome Home

The first week of our 3 week excursion to Utah has already flown by. Elder McGee arrived home on Wed., Sept. 3, from his mission in Santa Rosa, CA. He looks great! It has been so much fun to see him and be able to spend time with him again. Welcome home Kev!




The new RM in town!