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blinging up my heels…. They are just some grey pumps from Target, and they could use a little something, something!
so, I pulled out some of the Parisian Anthology ‘flair’ and ‘brooch brads’… as well as some of the Bazzil bling buttons and hot glued it right on! So cute!
so we had a family photo shoot... and capri got hold of my camera... here are a few of her shots:
this is kinda fun, give your kid your camera and see what they see!! and how they see it...
I love fonts! I think that a few new fonts can breathe an amazing amount of freshness when you need to come up with an invite, or announcement or a school poster etc. etc… I found these when I was working on my party invites… I got these from Dafonts.com so they were free! You gotta love that…
i find that i LOVE 'billy argel' fonts.. you should go HERE and see all of them! they are awesome!
we had such a fun party tonight... jumping, jumping at the indoor trampoline place: "airborne". i was struck today, how thankful Connor was for everything- he kept thanking me for the presents he could see were wrapped, and for making cupcakes, and for helping him find his 'aligator' shirt, and even driving him to the party. he was so sincerely grateful, and excited... it was so fun to be there with him. he is such a true, sweet joy in our lives.
7-7-07 was a lucky, lucky day.
connor was born the 7th member of our family... the 7th grandbaby on BOTH SIDES... we knew he would be a special guy! this highly snuggly, quick to smile, happy-go-lucky, keep up with his brothers, and unwilling to miss out on anything, momma's boy kid is a true delight in our family. i could not be more grateful for his presence in our home, and the light that he brings everywhere he goes.
today we are celebrating him... and this happy happy birthday!! i really wish he'd stay just like this.
The forth of july is so full of memories for me… and I hope that it will be for my kids’ as well… this year some of our ‘traditions’ changed a little, but we still had a great time together as a family, and I think that is really the key… we got up early and attended the “ 76th annunal Oakley Parade”… it’s a small town, and the floats are anything by elaborate..but it’s all about the candy throwing! The kids are so happy with a little piece of salt water taffy thrown at their feet from a moving tractor!
There are dance and band groups, all kinds of rodeo royalty, the town businesses (like dentists thowing out toothbrushes instead of tootise rolls) and of course the fire dept with a whole squad of cheerleaders riding on top! We loved it. this year it started out quite overcast with a few drops of rain, and ended up so sunny we could barely see!
Next stop was 30 miles West to Park City for some lunch, outlet mall shopping and the “old guys” (40+) rugby game that eric was playing in. the Outlets were packed, and there were awesome deals! I guess we are always up at the cabin, I didn’t even know that there were such great sales on July 4th! (woot!!)
We made our way to the rugby field and it also happened to be the spot where the whole town was hanging out and partying… I think waiting for the fireworks? The place was packed! It was fun to watch the old guys play! And eric had a blast… colton was a line judge and cory was in charge of the tee for the conversion kicks… I have to say, that I think that eric was ‘practicing what he preaches’ to his team…and just like the boys, when the game was over, he still wanted to play! (yay, no injuries)
Not losing any momentum… next on our agenda was the screening of CARS 2! We have been waiting for Bryson (my 2 year old nephew and HUGE Cars fan) to come to town to see the flick! I think that the story line was a little over the head of the little kids- I enjoyed the movie, but the little kids lost a little interest!
Once we got out of the show, it was time for a late dinner of hamburgers, corn on the cob and homemade ice cream! Mom made Chocolate, chocolate cherry icecream, and it turned out perfect, (as it always does when she makes it!)
LAST, and probably the most anticipated all day were fireworks! We skipped the big fireworks shows and just did the little at home ones… but this year, you could buy much bigger fireworks than ever! Fireworks that shoot 100 ft into the year! So it was pretty exciting! Full day of fuN!
funny what colors you find yourself drawn to...Jcrew posted the FALL look book, and i was thrilled to see more of my current FAV colors... apricot, salmon, coral...but with a fall twist. throw in a camel-y yellow and turquoise accents... and color me inspired! not to mention the ziggin' FRINGE, the wooden soles, the vintage rose print, and colorfu lace. LOVE!
gathered these images from: jcrew.com, piperlime.com and anthropologie.com
I decided to throw an ‘all American celebration’! my sister and her family have been living out of state for the last 9 months, so they are here visiting… and so in addition out or nation’s independence, i wanted to celebrate our family being together! I LOVE the 4th of july… from a very young age, it’s been that holiday full of summer fun and happy family memories! Pulled this together pretty last minute, lucky for me…my family was game!
Our day was so full of Patriotic goodness…
starting with the bike parade first thing in the morning. It’s so awesome to live in an area with SO many kids! It was so cute to see all the kids with their scooters, bikes and wagons all decorated. They were so excited, and felt like the stars’ of the show! I love these traditions…
Capri can ride a two-wheeler bike with no training wheels! she has had her eye on Quincy's old bike, and actualy, i think that Quincy got this bike when she turned 6 or 7... and Capri is only 4!... so Eric did some work on the bike-and got it sized down to fit her- you couldn't wipe the smile off her face! (i was scared to death) i attempted to run with the littles through the route, in case we had any accidents- and they left me in the dust.
there was a huge turnout to the bike parade, and afterwards, the fire dept met us, and sprayed down the kids…it was a HOT sunny, perfect daY!
Party was at six, and I just wanted it to be casual and fun! SO, I ordered pizzas (yay for 1. dominos.com where you can request the SPECIFIC time for the order to arrive! and 2. your Red, White and Bue boxes!) …we played a couple games, and enjoyed some ‘all American’ rootbeer floats!
My mom makes the BEST Red Velvet cake… and I am a huge fan! Every year, I want Red Velvet for my b-day cake… and I have tried Red Velvet cake, and cupcakes from many different places, but NONE have even come close to my moms… her secret is in the frosting. It’s amazing. I love it COLD! And these cupcakes were SO delicious! Thanks mom!!
I wanted to have a Jell-o jiggler slurping contest! I did learn that there is a science to the jigglers! Luckily I have LaRane (my SIL) who made PERFECT jigglers… and it was HISTERICAL … you can either slurp or you can’t! the kids loved it! Cory’s best friend Skip could SLURP!!
Chewing Bubble gum (specifically Double Bubble) is pretty darn American! So I wanted to have a Bubble blowing contest… some of the kids could blow bubbles, but none of us could compete with my brother Cam… I think he had 4 pieces of gum, and it was so funny, cause it kept popping ALL over his face, and his sunglasses…he was the clear winner!
I love being surrounded with my family—I love my cute nieces and nephews!
RootBeer floats is pretty 'all american' to me... every age, any one can love a float! even if you have to substitue rootbeer for sprite and vanilla icecream for orange sherbet!
(he is pretty 'all american' too!! smooch!)
(side note: i couldn't find long spoons anywhere... so i went and struck a deal with the folks at a local malt shop: ICEBERG... and yay, they were RED!)
katie, my cute little sister... used the party as her opportunity to announce: we are all SO excited!
It gets a little crazy…and it takes effort, but I love it—and it’s worth it! I appreciate so much the support of my family…I love that we can get together, and play together- and do what we want…worship, get educations, work, travel and live how we wish…this is a beautiful country- an amazing, diverse, wonderful place.
Of course, my mind keeps going to those who SERVE in our armed forces. Women and men, mothers’ and fathers, wives and husbands, people who are so passionate about the freedoms we enjoy, and the cause of protecting that peace. To those of you who are serving: thank you. our daliy prayers are offered in your behalf. We are thankful.
I have been contemplating the words of songs like…’My country tis of Thee’ “America the Beautiful’ and our National Anthem. I do love this country… may God Bless this nation, it’s people, it’s friends, our soilders and our Leaders… may the Lord bless us all!
we finished off the night with some Sparklers... don't you just love sparklers?? i played with the settings recommended by Kayla Lamoreaux (this is why i LOVE twitter!) ...here
colton was trying and trying to write his name.. i did use a tripod...
have a safe and wonderful holiday!
this is a little piece of a big project i am working on... thought i'd share... cute kids.
got to pulling out some of my scrapbook albums. I have a lot, and most are in boxes, but I am working on a big project, and wanted to refer to some old pages. I only got out 5 albums, but it was getting in a time machine. I did a little laughing, and a little crying- my kids were like “mom… are you crying????”. Its crazy how those emotions come right back to the surface. Everytime! (I am so thankful for every second I have spent making these crazy books)…
anyway, ran across this page- I didn’t date it, which is the number one rule….ALWAYS date your work. Both eric and I –at the same time- said, “ this was such a fun day”. It was the day that we hiked ‘rim to rim’ in the Grand Canyon. It was so much fun. It was hard. This page is simple, you might have seen it before if you have my Handwriting book… but I love this quote.
This morning as I was reading Twitter I read this: “the thought you believe the most will dictate what actions you take”. (it was from @TheDailyLove). Then it said: “what are you believing”. I got to asking myself, for the next couple of hours—and even decided to write in my journal about it. I think that it’s so hard to turn it around- your thoughts. I catch myself believing the EASY things to believe… which are usually the negative, or the worse case scenario- instead of believing that things will work out great and risk disappointment… just like anything you have to start small…practice believing in some simple things, and focusing on those. And then acknowledging all the good things that happen! And being thankful. So, in my journal I listed a few things that I WANT to believe in… I even put my list on a sticky note on the fridge. I am going to work on BOLDLY meeting a couple of my obstacles, and choosing to believe
Here is a great (quick) read, on this subject.. feeling inspired and energized.
