Anyone out there?

I'm not sure how many folks actually read this thing, but I have news to share with those of you that do...

We're moving.

It has been a super fun and blessed four years living in Texas and we will GREATLY miss our friends and family that remain. 

Utah!  Here we come.........again.  :)

Growing...and growing...and growing...

Lucas, 4-yrs-old, flexing his muscles!
Weight: 46 lbs 90-95 percentile
Height: 46" 97-100 percentile
Luke has grown two inches since June 14th!



Delaney, 2-yrs-old, looking like a big girl!
Weight: 30 lbs 75-80 percentile
Height: 36" 75-80 percentile



Spare bathroom project update

I thought I would post a picture of our spare bathroom now that the flooring is finished. I think it turned out great!!!  I may repaint to give it some color...still undecided though.   I would love to update the vanity to granite and I have new towel rack, toilet paper holder and hand towel ring on my list already.  :)

Hawaii. *sigh*

Lance and I went on a trip to Hawaii a couple weeks ago sans kids (THANKS MOM) and I thought I would post the highlight of the trip...well...besides being able to sleep in, chillax, nap, read a book on the beach, and do whatever we wanted for 5 whole days.  :)  We met up with Lance's sister, Melinda, and her hubs, Mike, (they flew in from Utah) and just had tons of good times!!!  Our stand-up paddle boarding lesson was my favorite part.  It was such an amazing experience and so much fun!!!  Here's a few pics.

Lance, Mike and me...(Melinda where are yooooooooou?)...and a sea turtle surfacing for air!  How cool is that?!





Mike, Melinda, Lance and Me taking a little break after stand-up paddling up the river.




Me, Melinda, Lance and Mike watching the sunset after our lesson. 



Hello Kitty

Delaney A-D-O-R-E-S Hello Kitty.  That might be a bit of an understatement.  She has Hello Kitty radar...I'm not even kidding.  If there's something Hello Kitty in a store, chances are...she'll find it.  It's the most adorable thing when she spots her.  She squeals and oohs and awwws over eact little figure, pillow, purse, pencil holder...whatever!  I guess the coolest thing about it is, she doesn't have to have it.  She's good looking at and admiring, but she doesn't pitch a fit when we leave it behind.  (Lucky me...count the days...cuz I'm sure they'll be fading fast.)  Anywho...I try to get her little things here and there, but Hello Kitty stuff isn't cheap!  So...I got this C-R-A-Z-Y idea to make her something with Hello Kitty on it.  Here's the finished project:

I had so much fun making it and LOVED the way it turned out!  The best part... I didn't have to buy a single new craft supply to make it.  I just used stuff I had laying around!  :)  I made the bag from an old sheet that I used on a previous project.  Hello Kitty and her bow are made from a multicolor pack of felt I purchased about two years ago for a previous project.  And I used embrodery floss (Lance picked up a huge bag at a Michael's sample sale...sniffle sniffle...I miss those days...) for the eyes, nose, whiskers and wording.  TOO MUCH CRAFTY FUN!!!!!!!

Aprons for the kiddos

Aside from my home makeover projects, I've been getting my craft on too.  :)  I bought an apron pattern a while back that had one for mom and one for little girls.  I had a couple spare hours a couple weeks ago and made Delaney's first.  It turned out so cute.  There are a few mistakes, but overall...cute.  When Luke saw I was making one for sister he, of course, wanted one too.  The only problem was the pattern was quite frilly with a gathered waist and stuff so I altered it a bit to make a straight apron for him.  It was quite simple.  I used the largest child size pattern top and instead of making the bottom bigger to gather I just pinned it the same width as the top.  Also instead of cutting the pieces out separately, I pinned them on the fold right next to each other and cut it out as one big pattern.  Then I could just hem and sew on the apron string casing as I did for Delaney's.  For Luke's I thought it would be fun to use some canvas I had laying around and then paint a character of his choice on the front.  He first said batman, then changed his mind to Mario and Luigi when I showed him a cool picture of them high-fiving each other. 

Here's a picture of the finished projects on the cutest kids in the whole wide world.  :)

Tearing up the joint!!!

Lance and I have discussed on several occasions replacing our vinyl flooring in the bathrooms, laundry room and kitchen pretty much ever since we moved into our house.  It hasn't really been on the top of our "to do" list until I stumbled upon an impassable deal.  You see, it was a late night...close to midnight...when I felt like I should get on Home Depot's website and see what they had in various flooring options.  When I began my search on tile, I clicked several options narrowing my search down to 16x16 residential tiles then sorted my options from lowest price to highest price and BAM! Up popped this 16x16 tile for 8 cents/sqft.!!! 8 CENTS!!! I couldn't believe my eyes.  The tile wasn't available online, but only in stores so I printed the page and decided to go in first thing in the morning.  When I got there the next morning a very friendly associate helped me locate the tile only to find it was actually 77 cents/sqft.  That was quite a huge price jump in comparison for the amount of tile I would need...around 500/sqft.  So the associate paged the manager over.  The manager couldn't believe her eyes either when she saw my computer print out.  She was very apologetic but said there was no way she could possibly sell me the tile for 8 cents.  I figured as much before I even went to the store, but I was still wondering if they would work me out some kind of deal.  So I asked just that, "What can you sell it to me for?"  I was hoping at least half the original price...fingers crossed... "I can sell it to you for half price," she said.  WAHOOOO!!!  Happy day!  "I'll take it!"  So I bought the 30 cases we would need to do all the areas of tile we wanted.  What would have originally cost over $400 dollars cost half as much!  My dad and brother drove down to help me load it up and now it's sitting in the garage.  But.... 

This is what I've been up to lately...

I consider myself to be quite the handy lady.  I took the toilet out all by myself and by some miracle was able to get it into the bathtub without making too much of a mess of things (thanks for the newspaper in the tub for the waxy toilet ring thing, dad).  I then proceeded to take up the base board and was able to salvage all of the pieces except one short piece that I started with before I knew all the tricks to cutting the caulk and being more patient with my prying.  I then started pulling up the vinyl.  Which...I tell you what...is a work out!  I had a handy pole scraper thing my dad lent me which helped immensely, but the true trick is...after the vinyl is up there's a papery backing that is glued to the floor.  If you soak it in water and let it sit for about 5 minutes, it'll peel right up with the scraper. 

So...after that was done....my dad and hubby tiled!

Now we just need to grout.  We were going to do it this weekend, but didn't get around to it.  I'm thinking it can't be that hard to grout so I might give it a try while Lance is gone this week.  :)

We plan on doing the master bathroom, laundry room, then we are going from the front entry of the house and cutting the carpet out of the heavy traffic area all the way to the kitchen and tiling all that as well.  I can't wait for it to be finished. It's going to look so great!  After all the tiling is done, we'll start looking into carpeting options.  :)  Hurray for a much needed house face lift!!!  Anyway, that's what I've been up to.  More of my home makeover project posts to come.  :)

Oink! Oink!

Lance and I decided to make jobs the kids could do around the house so they could start earning and learning about money and paying tithing.  We made jobs aside from keeping rooms clean, beds made, and regular household chores because we think they shouldn't get "paid" to do those things as they are things they should be doing anyway.  At any rate, this put me in the market for a couple of piggy banks.  My friend Gwen had posted on her blog an adorable little ballerina piggy bank she made and I felt inspired.  :)  So I wandered over to Hobby Lobby and picked up a couple of ceramic piggy banks for $4.00 each as they were 50% off! Woot!  Woot! I also purchased some enamel paint to paint them first, but ended up liking them white with a couple embellishments.They are quite simple, but I think they turned out pretty cute, and the kids love them! 



Delaney's piggy bank.
 I made the bow and glued some little pink gems in the shape of a "D" on the side.
Sweet and simple, but seriously made me go "Awwwww."  :)



Luke's piggy bank.
I was giggling like a little school girl when I was making Luke's.  I had left over material from when he was Mario for Halloween last year so I sewed a tiny Mario hat and cut out a bushy mustache.  Call me crazy, but the idea popped in my head and I just had to try it!  I don't know who was more excited about it...me or Luke?  :)

Wasn't it just yesterday???

 Why does time pass so quickly?  Weren't these my babies just yesterday?

I am having a real...where-does-the-time-go...moment tonight. 

Mommy's little man.

Daddy's little princess.

It's hard to believe that this is my last year with Lucas home.  He starts Kindergarten next year and in Texas, Kindergarten is ALL DAY LONG!  It's going to be so weird not having him around.  I'm already thinking about it a lot and it's a whole year away! 

My baby girl is starting to potty train!  She wore big girl underwear all day today with only one accident. She just barely turned 2, but she wants to be such a big girl already.  :(

Definitely a where-does-the-time-go moment.

What a SMART kid!

One Spring day before it was too hot to play outside...I busted out the sidewalk chalk and let the kids loose on the driveway.  After a while of chalking it up, Lucas said, "Hey mom!  I wrote my name!"  We had practiced several months ago with writing his name, but he didn't seem all that interested so I dropped it, and decided we would try for a later date.  The little smarty pants remembered how to do it though, and low and behold...

...clear as clear can be the letters spelled out LUCAS. 

I was beaming!  :)

To sleep or not to sleep? That is the question...

Delaney fell asleep on the couch the other day and this is one of the positions I caught her in. 

It made me smile.  :)



S-L-A-C-K-E-R

Here I go again...I'd give some reasons for not blogging but really I don't have any good ones.  So, without further comment on the matter...

What's new?

Welllllll.....not a whole lot really.  My baby girl turned 2-years-old this summer!  I can't believe it, but she did.  I would post pictures of her birthday shindig, but I don't currently have any in my possession.  We celebrated her birthday while we were in Utah this summer.  I didn't have my camera so I will post some as soon as I get my hands on the ones taken by my AWESOME sisters-in-law (Melinda and Kimmy). 
We were able to see all my family and most of Lance's family still in Utah, we did not however, visit with any of our friends, and for that I apologize. :(  I hope to see you next time we are out.

While at my sister's we made some really fun tie-dyed clothes for the kids and she was kind enough to send me a couple of those pictures.  So here they are for your viewing pleasure...

We actually read the instructions and methods and our shirts turned out AWESOME!!!

The next picture is one my mom actually took when we were back home in Texas.  It needs an explanation...you see, it's a really, really, really, REALLY long drive to and from Utah.  On the way, I drove with my mom and kids and did most of the driving so my mind was occupied with...well, driving.  On the way home though, my mom rode with Jared and Lance drove our car for most of the journey which left me to sleep, manage the children, snack, sleep some more, and spread some joy and laughter into the lives of other drivers passing by.  The following photo will demonstrate how I managed to do so...don't worry...it's totally "G rated"  :)

Window markers are DA BOMB!!!  After several attempts to draw something suitable, this is the masterpiece I came up with.  As we approached a vehicle, I would assume position and wait for a reaction.  Every person that noticed had a good laugh.  Some vans and SUVs...obviously packed with a family doing the exact same thing as we were...trekking about the country for a vacation, sped up to get along side us again so those in the car who missed the comic relief, could catch a glimpse and find joy in their journey as well.  :)  It was fun!  We all had a good laugh. 

To sum things up, the weather was swell and such a nice break from the Texas heat, and it was a joy to have so much fun with family.  :)

Is it weird...?

Is it weird that I found joy in slipping on a new pair of Playtex Handsaver gloves before cleaning the bathrooms today.  My other ones were looking pretty sad and the sight of new bright yellow cleaning gloves on my hands actually made me smile.  Is that weird?

A few pictures just for fun...

Lucas and Delaney all ready for church one Sunday.  They looked so cute I HAD to take a picture.  They were both very cooperative and I was so glad.  CUTEST KIDS EVER!!!



My little helper. 
Laney is eager to help and I try to encourage her to do so.  She already helps with laundry, dishes, and general picking up of toys.  She also likes to put water in a cup from the fridge and dump it on the floor just so she can clean it up, not my favorite thing, but really cute.  Silly little girl.  This picture I had just opened a new package of gloves for cleaning the bathroom and she wanted to wear them.



Seriously, cute kids.  Don't they just make your heart swell? They sure do mine.  :)

Okay, I know what you're thinking..."What the heck is this all about?"  Well let me tell you.  I have a bit of, well...an obsession, is probably what Lance would call it.  Anytime I go somewhere with clothing or shoes, I like to browse the clearance racks and see if I can score a deal on stuff for the next year when they are out of season.  It's been working VERY well so far.  The majority of the above merchandise I purchased either before Delaney was even born or when she was only around 4 months old and it's all for this summer (she'll be 2).  I paid a WHOPPING $23 dollars for everything you see and a little red skort you don't see (forgot to include it in the picture).  So that's 6 tops and 7 bottoms for $23 dollars!!!  I tallied the original prices and had I paid them, I would have paid about $100 for all of it.  I think the exact number was like $97.50 or something like that.  Crazy right? Lance is always telling me she has plenty of clothes, but he is really learning to appreciate my thriftiness when a new season rolls around and we don't have to go buy anything.  :)  And and 75% savings...H-E-L-L-O!!!!



Happy Birthday Luke...uhhh...a month ago. :)

I suppose it's better late than never, right?  It took me a while, but I'm FINALLY trying to get back in the groove of bloggin' and keepin' ya'll updated.  So, to kick things off I thought I would first blog about how I now have a 4-year-old. 

Yup.  That's him.  :)

Lucas Reed Satterthwaite turned 4-years-old on March 10th.  He is such a character...some days...a little too much of a character and spends a lot of time in time out, but deep down he is a sweet boy that loves his sister so much.  He expresses that love best by bugging the living daylights out of her.  What big brother doesn't show love that way?  ;)

For Luke's birthday this year, he wanted a Batman cake.  Not having a Batman cake pan, nor did I want to purchase one, I decided to just wing it (haha...no pun intended).  So here it is...

WAM!  POW!  BANG!

Holy cakey awesomeness Batman!

Actually, it wasn't anything too fancy but Luke LOVED it and it tasted de-e-e-licious.  Since those are my only two criteria, HAZAAAAA!!! Cakey awesomeness achieved.  :)

And now for your viewing pleasure, a few pictures of Luke opening a couple of his presents.  Sorry he's not looking at the camera for any of them.  He isn't the most cooperative subject when it comes to getting pictures taken...wonder where he gets that???

(Lance and his siblings)

Anyway...moving on...

That last one is by FAR my favorite picture.  Luke had just unwrapped a new Wii game.  He had mentioned he wanted an airplane game a while back and when Lance and I were browsing Walmart one fine evening, we ran across a bin of various games for $20.  It looked like a REALLY great, kid-friendly game and $20 for a Wii game was not a bank breaker so we threw it in the cart as a score.  When we got to the checkout we were pleasantly surprised to discover it was actually only $10!  What?  DOUBLE SCORE!  Anyway, as you can tell, he was quite excited as was my niece, Kalli.  :)  Along with the Wii game he got a new matchcars motorcycle, some Star Wars Legos, Toy Story Legos, a giant white board and markers, Bakugan thingy-ma-jigs (they're like little dragons and stuff that collapse into a ball...kinda hard to explain...) and I think that's about it. 

Here's Delaney in the middle of all the action.  Her hair was quite crazy.  I usually have it pulled up and out of her eyes, but of course...that wasn't the case for when the camera was out.  I promise, I do usually have her looking less Raggedy Anne.

It was a fun day and we are so blessed to have Lucas in our lives.  He is growing up so fast and becomes a bigger boy each day.  He still says some of the most hilarious things and has recently started the game of mimicking everything you say...happy day!  :)  He continutes to grow like a weed and has grown half an inch in the last month to currently be an even 44 inches tall.  We love him so much and we're so glad he is a part of our family.

Seriously?! Get it together woman!

This post is to let all...ahem...9 of my followers know that the Texas Satterthwaite's are, in fact, still alive. I was going to go back a few months and recap Thanksgiving and Christmas...oh...and the New Year, but-I figured it's insanely old news at this point and most of ya'll were present for the festivities. So, with that said...I apologize for being such an incredible slacker and I assure you I have a renewed sense of blogging and keeping you out of the dark!!! Can I get an Amen? A-M-E-N!!!!!