one fruitful Sunday!

i mean that literally "one" fruitful Sunday! we had our first harvest from the garden! so, i was a little over eager and picked this guy a day or two early, (still a little small)but i was outside grilling the chicken for our pizza, and thought zucchini would be the perfect side dish. even if we could only each have one spear.

and Avery didn't even get any, sorry kid maybe next time mommy can be patient and wait until there's enough to go around.

one fun saturday!

i love Saturdays because Daddy is home to play with us! this week started out early, with Anna climbing into bed with us. this is a rare occurrence so i snapped a few shots. these two were snug as bugs. so i slipped out to my spin class. when i came home, Anna was awake, and sporting this sweet "make up." (aka, marker)later that day, we had our friends over to play.

baths for all

Avery usually doesn't love bathtime. so, when she was being so cute and cooing, and checking herself out in the mirror, i just had to capture that on film. while she got clean, sisters were also in the bath:

these little artists spend all day coloring, and then want to keep their creative juices flowing even in the bath. it's fun to watch them explore new shapes. Anna is really into drawing the person made of just one big head with limbs coming out of it. Madeline is into squiggles.

CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so, for those of you who don't know me, i am a lawyer. i know, weird since this blog is all about kids and crafts and whatnot. but it's true, seven brief years ago i graduated from Chapman University School of Law and had a civil practice before moving to AZ and having Anna. this weekend i got to go to my alma mater to see my little brother (little? yeah not quite at 6'5", but younger than me so he'll always be "little") receive his JD. it was much more nostalgic than i expected, and i was so proud of Austin. i think every law school graduate feels a little awkward graduating, knowing that the bar and more importantly bar results loom in the future. but it's nonetheless exciting to finish up the book learnin'.

before the ceremony, we had a beautiful dinner in my parents yard with our family:

the graduate and Holly:

the kids enjoyed a picnic:

in other exciting news, Jason and i took the entire day on Saturday to be by ourselves!!!!!!!!!!! this was amazing and has not happened since our little angel Anna was born. coming soon, a whole night or dare i say it, string of nights sans bebes (without kids)! i can dream, can't i?
all in all our trip was a success.

hey Jude!.....and Leila....

so, i pretty much only know how to do girl crafts. my adorable little cousin (okay, so she's not that little anymore since she is a mother of 2) just had an equally adorable little boy. but the problem is i only do girl crafts. so i made this cute little man onesie, and a dress for 2 year old Leila. it had to be done. sorry Jude, i'll be sure to give you lots of candy when you're older!

what do you do when you don't have a son?

take your daughters to the father/sons camp out. Jason isn't one to sit on the sidelines, and i'm not one to say, "hey, it's cool for you to take off on a camp out with your buddies, just 'cause he doesn't have sons. i'll stay home with the kids, have fun!" so, he took the girls to fathers and sons again this year. they had a blast.

coming soon to a mailbox near you...

if you had a baby girl in the last 2 years, you may expect to find something like this:
in your mailbox soon....(if not, i haven't forgotten about you, i am just really slow. your daughter may get a really awesome high school graduation gift from me someday! it's the thought that counts right?)

7 months

unbelievable that my baby is seven months. if she's anything like Madeline, she'll be off to the races shortly. somehow i don't think i'd take it very well. she's growing too, too fast!

yummy!

my kids, "take a picture of our yummy apple slices!"

me, "okay?"

kids, "can we see...yeah, they're yummy!"

me, scratching head, "okay?"

mother's day

this mother's day was wonderful. not only did my husband and children shower me with love, but i was able to share some of that love with my mother and mother-in-law, as well as put together some beautiful gifts for the young women to give their mothers. it was Anna's first time singing in Sacrament with the primary. even though she was elbowed out of her front row position by some eager young lads, she sang her heart out and made me proud. furthermore, Jason kept an eye on the kids while i relaxed. oh, and he relaxed too:

how do guys pull this off. i'm hopeless at the childcare/nap....

sewing again

so, i've been on a rather lengthy sewing hiatus, the projects just piling up. and this was not one of them.......years ago my dear beautiful crafty and talented friend Tonya, swore to me that shirring was easy. seeing all the shirred dresses coming into target and old navy, but wishing for different fabrics, i finally decided to take her word for it. and guess what? she doesn't lie! it's pretty easy, but more so, pretty addictive. now, all the fabric i had for baby quilts is slowly becoming little sun dresses. which will probably be better gifts anyway, since the intended recipients are all little toddlers now. oh, and maybe someday i'll actually tackle some of the projects i have piling up. sew silly!

i love to see the temple

these cuties helped me go on a scouting mission to choose a place to take pictures of the young women and their mothers. they were patient in the 100+ degree weather, and loved going in the visitor's center and "pressing the buttons to learn about Jesus."

Wednesday night, our ward brought the young women and their mothers to the visitors center for a special program focused on young women, and preparing for the temple. the Sister Missionaries and a newly married woman gave awesome presentations. it was a wonderful evening.

swine flu?

all last week as i listened to the media spin the "swine flu" epidemic, i thought, "boy, i'm glad i don't have sick kids, i'd hate to second guess their symptoms." fast forward to friday afternoon and the projectile vomit both my "big girls" were spewing. yuck! poor Madeline was so miserable, she just couldn't understand why i wouldn't let her have her sippee cup. and she thought that the barf bowl was making her throw up, since i would shove it her direction every time she gagged. she'd say, "no mom, i don't want to thow up!" luckily the flu left almost as quickly as it came, but not before wiping out our weekend plans. ah, parenthood! it was funny, once Maddie was back on solids, everything she ate she'd exclaim, "look, i didn't throw up!"