Halloween!

 This year was by far the most fun Halloween.  Why?  Because Luke was SOOO excited to be Mario!  I found a tutorial online to make his hat and tried it out several weeks before Halloween, just in case.  I was able to make it and Luke wore it everywhere we went.  He still does.  It has kicked his Lightening McQueen hat right out! :)  He was also so excited that Lance was Luigi.  I made his hat as well and found a green sweatshirt for $6! 

Delaney wore a ladybug costume and I must say, was the most adorable ladybug EVER!  When I first put it on her Luke said, "Hey!  There's two Ladybugs!"  He calls Delaney ladybug on a regular basis. 

We went to our church trunk-or-treat on Friday. I even made a costume for the car...Jaws of DOOOOOOOOOOOM!  :) 

On Saturday we went to Jared and Camille's and had a dippy party (ate all foods you dip).  We didn't do anything on the actual day of Halloween except chillax in the house.  Here are a few pictures! 

Delaney aka Laneybug. 

Luke waiting for his costume to be looked over by the judges.



The most handsome Mario I know!



Luigi and Laneybug. Luigi's mustache wouldn't stick...too much stubble.  :(

The Jaws of DOOOOOOM

Laneybug and Mario at Jared and Camille's

Laneybug again.  She seriously looked so dang cute!!!

At the trunk-or-treat we parked next to a dentist.  He and his wife LOVED our Jaws of DOOOOOOM and offered to pay me for them so they could take them and put braces on them to use for their office.  I laughed, and gave them the jaws for free.  :)

I just now realized I didn't get a picture of Luigi and Mario together.  :(

Food Storage

While sitting in Sunday school at church, the instructor was talking about the Second Coming of Christ.  He was talking about being prepared and heeding the counsel of Latter-day prophets in getting our food storage and emergency supplies ready.  Those who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as I am, have heard this SEVERAL times for SEVERAL years from SEVERAL prophets.  I have always had the "desire" and known that it is something Lance and I "should" be working on, but it wasn't until it the following question was asked that the importance and URGENCY of being prepared really hit me...  "Do you want to be responsible for watching your children starve in the event of an emergency because you have not sufficiently prepared?"  I couldn't help myself...my eyes well with tears every time at the very thought.  We have been instructed again, and again, and again.  Now is the time to prepare.
I just wanted to share this in hopes that it ignites as big a fire under your bum as it did mine!  LOVE YOU!

Trash to Treasure...

I have been on the hunt for a piece of furniture to use as storage for my ever growing supply of craft stuff.  A couple weekends ago Lance and I went out in hopes to find something during our community wide garage sale.  This is what we happened upon...

It definitely was NOT pretty, but the price was right at a whopping 15 bucks!!! The quality and sturdiness of the piece seemed great, but the previous owners let their daughter paint it...YIKES...it was quite a mess.  The hutch backboard had two large holes and wasn't quite salvageable, but that's not too much of a big deal. I'll show in a later post what I plan on doing with that.  Anyway...

I had the BEST helper ever sanding off a few rough spots...then busted out the primer.  I love primer.  It didn't require me to sand the entire piece before painting. Here it is in its "prime".

Then it was on to the painting.  I used an oil base paint because I read that it gives furniture a smoother coat.  Not to mention it is SUPER wipeable which is AWE-SOME!  Here it is painted with drawers in...except for two.  One needed to be glued and one needed to be sanded a bit so it would slide in and out more easily.  No biggie. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the hardware (although it is kind of cool and rustic which I might be able to use for a future project) so I searched online and found some nifty stainless steal pull bars for just $1.26 each! Since I needed 15 of the bad boys, I was STOKED at the price!!! I found some other ones I loved and thought were SO cool, but they were $10.00 a pop! OF COURSE!!!

And here it is finished with the new hardware. 

Yeah, I'm lovin' it! 

Project Tally:

Dresser and Hutch $15

Hardware $27 (shipping included)

Paint, primer and supplies $15 (total cost of all the supplies was more, but I plan on using them for future projects so this is the estimated cost for the amount I used on the project)

Craft storage awesomeness total: $57

I'll post it with the my hutch plans when that's complete.

More Sayings

I can't get over how fast Luke is growing up.  I was talking to him and telling him what a good boy he was today.  He said, "Yeah, I wasn't hitting Laneybug."  Not that he hits or bugs her NEARLY as much as he used to, but occasionally he does.  Anyway, I then told him that I loved him.  And he said, "I love you too."  Then after a brief pause, "We're best friends!"  What a sweet, sweet boy. Things like this make my heart swell.  I hope we can always be best friends.  :)

What's new?

I have a "job".  I type "job" because it doesn't seem like work to me.  You see, I am now an employee of the Northpark YMCA in the child watch center.  For a mom with kids not in school, it's pretty sweet.  Lucas and Delaney go and stay with me the entire time.  I came upon the opportunity while helping my good friend paint her son's bedroom to look like outer space.  She was telling me about her day of interviewing and such to better staff the child watch department.  I didn't really think about it much until later that day.  I started thinking that maybe it would be kind of fun to do.  So, that evening I talked to Lance about it and then asked my friend a few questions.  She said I should fill out an application if I was serious.  So...I did just that!  I was interviewed and got the job!  My day consists of checking kids in and out from the center, reading stories, picking up toys and making sure kids aren't maiming each other...how does that differ from what I was doing before???  It really has been great!  And...we don't have to change the other kids' diapers!  We go find the parent(s) and they come in and do it!  NICE!!!

Lucas and Delaney are adjusting very well.  The first day was a little difficult because Delaney pretty much had a fit anytime I picked up another baby/toddler.  I felt like I wasn't all that helpful because she was wanting me to hold her the whole time.  Funny thing, as long as I wasn't in the room (like when I dropped them off for my interview) she was perfectly fine!  What a silly girl.  As the week progressed, she has really adjusted and it has made things much, much easier.  Watching other children has also helped me realize what a good boy Luke is!  He is getting so big and really understanding how to socialize with other children.  We still need to work on the whining a bit, but otherwise he is such a good kid!  He is quite willing to share and has a hard time when he is doing well and other kids aren't so good at it.  That's when I hear the most whining.  I am also witnessing the things we have been learning at home come out.  My friend was playing a game with all the older kids outside on the playground asking them to find different shapes and colors and Luke could find everything she was saying.  He was even piping up with his own shapes. "Here's an oval!" he shouted as he pointed it out on the play equipment.  S-M-A-R-T!!!  Anyway...so far so good.  I think it's going to be a good thing for everyone involved.  :)

One I don't want to forget for sure...

While visiting family in Utah, Luke had had a long hard day of playing with cousins.  It was getting about time for bed and he was walking up the stairs with Lance right behind him.  He stopped after about the third or fourth stair, turned around and said to Lance, "Daddy, my batteries are dead.  Can you carry me?" 

Funny kid!

Things Luke says

"Come on Laneybug! We have fun to do!" Then he takes his little sister by the hand and leads her off on their adventure.

"But, why?" VERY frequently. Then when the question is answered, followed with several other "but whys" until I usually end up saying, "Because that's just how it is." :)

Delaney's 1st Birthday!!!

During our last week of staying in Utah, Delaney turned 1. I had some really cute Ladybug themed birthday stuff I was going to use for her first birthday, but of course I forgot to pack the box. Oh well! Here are some pictures celebrating our baby girl!

The cake. I divided up the batter and colored it red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple just for fun.

Here's Lucas looking in such nail-biting anticipation to EAT THE CAKE already!!!!

The best Daddy and his birthday girl!

Helping Laneybug blow out the candle.

Not quite sure what this is...let me poke at it a bit and I'll let ya know.

Hmmm...Taste it....

Love it!

Roll it.

Maybe dad should help.

That seemed to do the trick. There was no turing back from this point.

She looks rather unimpressed at this point, doesn't she? She's like...okay...I ate it and made a mess of myself...now what?

Courtesy smile. :)

"I call this look Blue Ice."

HaPpY BiRtHdAy baby girl!

This year has gone by way too fast! You are such a joy and blessing in our lives! You're quick to smile and such a happy baby! We love you!!!

And we're off!!!

Delaney has been walking for a couple weeks now. One day she just decided to take off. My baby girl is getting so big. :( It sure is fun now that she walks though. She just gets her little self wherever she wants. :) Here's some video.

Cutest kids...EVER!!!

As if Lucas didn't look enough like Lance already...I gave him a big boy haircut just like dad. He thinks it's pretty cool and I think he looks so handsome, but it sure makes him look like such a big boy. :( It was combed much better for church today. This was taken later this evening, but you get the basic idea.

And here's a couple pictures of Delaney's "new do". Pig tails! :) She's such a cutie!

The cutest piggies of all!

I love painting tiny piggies to match mine. :) It will just get more and more fun as she learns to like having her toes painted...not to mention sooooooo much easier!

WHOA! My garden?

Upon returning home from my three week visit to Utah, I fully expected to find my garden completely dead. Instead I found this...

A green jungle. Can you spot the garden plot??? LOL

After about three hours of weeding, this is what FINALLY turned up.


Along with this...my poor hand. I don't like to weed with gloves because I can't grasp the weeds as well and usually just end up breaking them off instead of getting the root. So...if my hand looks like I dipped it in a pot of scalding hot water and burned it...that's how it felt. My skin burned for quite a few days...not to mention the soreness of the muscles, tendons and ligaments. Then after that was all over, boy did I get some WiCkEd calluses. Hurray! ;)

Utah Trip: Part 2...PICTURE OVERLOAD

The second week of Utah I spent four days with my sister and her family in Brigham City. We went to the midnight showing of Eclipse which was really fun. I had never been to a opening showing like that. It was quite the experience with all the teen aged screamin girls. :) We hung out, did some crafting, swam in their above ground pool, celebrated Jaden's 11th birthday, played some rockband and just chillaxed. We had so much fun and it was good to spend time with her and the fam. Sorry, no pictures...we really need to get a new camera!

The next week Lance flew back into Utah and we spent the remainder of our trip with his family. We first stayed at his Aunt Katie and Uncle Ron's cabin in Island Park, ID. That was a lot of fun. They keep three 4-wheelers up there which Luke absolutely LOVED riding on. I didn't get any pictures... :( We floated down the river, played lots of games, toasted marshmallows and hot dogs, had a parade and ate WAY toooo much junk!!!
After the cabin we went back to Lance's folks house and stayed the rest of our trip. We had another parade around the turn-about they have in the front of their house on the 5th of July. All the grandkids decorate a bike or scooter with streamers and ribbons and ride around the circle a couple times while the parents and Mimi and Papa stand and cheer. Then Uncle Mike drives around in his car with some patriotic decorations, honks and throws candy. :) I don't think they weren't going to do it again since we did it on the 4th at the cabin (minus the kid parade part), but I think they did just so Luke could participate...we hauled his bike all the way from Texas, afterall. ;) Thanks guys!

The following pictures are courtesy of Melinda and Kim (Lance's sisters). They are not in chronological order...sorry.

Papa taking Tucker, Lucas and Delaney for a wheel barrow ride. I think this was toward the end and Delaney was just about done. :)

Lucas and Tucker going for a ride on the firetruck. :) They became pretty good buddies.

Luke riding in the kid parade around the circle at Mimi and Papa's.

Luke and cousins in the kid parade.

Toasting marshmallows at the cabin. This was Luke's first campfire experience. He LOVED it! Not to mention the S'mores were delish!!!

This is Laneybug's greasy hot dog hair. YIKES. She's into this thing now of playing with her hair. She does it in the highchair and when she's drinking a bottle. Funny, Luke used to play with his hair when he was little too.

Luke looking in anticipation as Uncle Mike drives up to throw candy in the "parade" at the cabin. They each had a flag to wave and a little bag to put their goodies!

Collecting candy!

The first pass of the Uncle Mike parade. :) You can't see in the pictures but he had some streamers and USA banners hanging on the side of the car.

The whole gang...all of Lance's family...every last one! :)

Our little family! Delaney is already such a cheeser...although it may look like she was screaming, she was actually just smiling REALLY big. :)

Tucker, Wyatt and Lucas. These boys played so well together...and got REALLY dirty.

Aunt Katie had a bunch of metal work trucks and tractors at the cabin that the boys LOVED to play with. Shoot...I even played with them!

Three little babies sitting in a Lovesac! Bella, Gavin and Delaney. Bella was just 8 weeks old, Gavin was 7 months and Delaney would be turning 1 in just 5 days. Gavin won the chubs prize though. Just look at those cheeks!!!! :)

Me and my homie Gavin chillin'.

Lucas and Wyatt doing some push-ups while Papa takes a snooze on the Lovesac.