The Sallee Family

Valentine's Party

2012-01-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

My first attempt at homemade red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting. I even did heart shaped molded white chocolate hearts. Yes, I was on a roll!

Janalee made a heart shaped cake!

All the kids gave each other valentines and I had buckets for them to put their treats in. I got the cutest ideas from pinterest. Easton gave out gold fish that said, "Will you o'fish'ially be my valentine?

and Stratton have out Super hero suckers...

Weston and Easton hugging.

Bryn

Lily

Easton adores Janalee cause she gives him candy all the time!

Weston and Sarah

Brennan and Zoe

My handsome man!

They were actually happy because they had candy; note for next group kid pic.

so funny!

so cute! beautiful girls!

Our fun group didn't get together over the holidays since everyone was sick so we were long over due and it was so fun to see everyone. The kids had a blast playing and there were no bumps or bruises.

Baby Gifts

2012-01-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some more baby gifts! I made two blue boxes, they were originally planters that I got at simply splendid at that sale when they moved, $1.50 I think. Anyway, I drilled holes on the sides and strung rope through on each side.

I then cut some vinyl to say."All boy" and put in my gifts. Super easy!

One of my cute friends Ali is having a little girl and I just couldn't stop making some decorations for her nursery. Her colors purple and green and so I made her a quote, a chandelier and a frame with a another quote in it. On top of the frame there is a little headband. It is fun to make little girl stuff to!

This last little find from DI for a $1.50 and its one of those expensive looking metal/tin squares that I love to decorate with. This one had scratches and dents on it, and the prices on the back was originally $15.00.

A fresh coat of paint and a little bit of glaze with some roughing up and its got a new life for a great price to match my existing decor!

It was a very busy week! Time for a break!

Cupboard Door Shelves

2012-01-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

Before I start explaining these I have to say that this project has been my favorite and most liberating thing I have made so far! (If that makes any sense.) My mom bought these cupboard doors at the habitat restore for $1 a piece! I am already thinking all these other projects to do with more...

I can not thank my sweet husband enough for buying my lovely Dremmel tool, I went crazy on this one. I learned how to use and loved it. I am starting to take over his tools now, I want to learn how to do everything. I drilled holes for the knobs or hooks to go in then I painted them in two different colors these were mostly baby gifts; the pale blue and avocado green.

Then I found the cutest knobs and hooks at hobby lobby for 50% off! I loved mixing the knobs which I think i will do more of next time.

Of course I had to glaze them! My new obsession when it comes to painting and I think they turned out so cute! I think I might make a ton more and sell them! It was so hard to part with them! Love, love!

Snow...finally!

2012-01-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

The boys check outside everyday to see if there is enough snow to play and make a snowman. Finally this morning they talked me into heading outside! ( I do not like the cold and have enjoyed the lack of snow.) They had a blast with what little snow they did have.

Stratton named him "Jack", he must have gotten that from a Christmas show he just watched.

He was so excited to make his first "snow angel" that he could remember making.

They clapped for themselves when "jack" was all done, so cute!

Snow dogs, don't ask...

Then they headed inside to cook some food. Long day!

Random Pictures

2012-01-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

With the warm weather we finally made it outside once we were all better! So here are some random fun pictures.

As of lately...

2012-01-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

I got a babycake maker and was finally able to try a recipe i got off of Pinterest for these yummy Peppermint cupcakes. These are my first cupcakes from scratch that worked!

This is my $3 dollar frame from the habitat restore, which if you remember I did one for Taylor's room also. I am slowly going to redo my room in a rustic/chic/romantic look and its really hard to tell from the lighting but the quote says, "Loved you yesterday, you you still, always have, always will."

Our Sick Christmas Holiday!

2011-12-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

The only good Christmas Picture of the three of us! Where do I even begin! Last Monday we started with Stratton getting the flu then Strattton getting Croup and having to take him to the ER the next night because he couldn't breath. Then the next day Easton had the flu for the next few days. All the mean time Jared and I were doing ok until Christmas came then Jared got the flu really bad, hence why he is not in the the pictures. On Christmas Day I took the boys up to my parent's house for a couple to get out of the house because they were starting to feel a little better and Jared was way too sick to celebrate. Then that night Easton caught the Croup and I had to take him to the After-hours clinic to get a steroid shot. Now I have caught a cold from the boys. Anyway, not the Christmas I had pictured but we were all together!

Bob had a funny elf shirt and hat on that the boys loved!

Kandace and Glen in the Santa hats!

The one smile I got that night! Poor little guy...

Cute Sisies..

Us sisters get to go see "Wicked"! So excited!

Bob got them way too many gifts as usually, he is his own santa!

The kitchen was a hit!

Easton was trying to wake up Stratton telling him that Santa came. Stratton didn't budge, he was so tired from being sick.

They got their," Captain Jack Sparrow guns" they call them

Sorry to all those who we missed seeing this year! We love you and hope to see you soon when we are all better! Thank you for your prayers.

Thanksgiving point lights

2011-12-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

Every year we do our little Christmas party with Janalee and Randall and this year this we went to Thanksgiving point and did the drive through lights and saw the Reindeer. I feel kind of bad for the miniature Reindeer, having to deal with the little kids taunting them all day and night. These Caribu were from a farm and raised for events like this and you can't help but feel bad for them. The boys were so excited to see them since they are so into Christmas this year. My favorite part though so far is when Stratton came up to me other day and told me that he had a pretend gift for me. When I pretended to open it I asked him what it was and he said it was "Frankincense, ya know from the Wisemen." It is good to know that he is listening to me sometimes. Ah, love that kid. :)

Thomas family party

2011-12-16T10:29:00.001-08:00

Love this face Traci!

We had our Thomas Family party up in Oakley this year up at my Aunt's house and they had horses and chickens and the boys were in heaven! We had family from Texas here and and played some games too. Mostly chased the boys around, that is how most events go now. Still good to see everybody though.

Temple Square

2011-12-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

Th boys first time to Temple square to see the lights was magical. They loved it! Stratton ran around in amazement and Easton was all bundled up in the stroller. We decided to go after church last Sunday, spur of the moment and there was hardly anybody there.

Right at dusk, before the turned on the lights. My favorite time.


This is really hard to see, but is here, 6 1/2 yeas ago where Jared proposed.		It didn' t use to be gated off and it happened right on that bench, on December 28th. Ahhh...

My favorite picture

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

Santa Hats:
3 cones from the dollar store
3 red felt squares of fabric hot glued around foam cones
3 strips of vinyl or paper glued around the cones with 3 belt buckles out of scrapbook paper
3 cottonballs
fake snow on the bottom

Idea off of Pinterest with my own twist!

Fun board for pictures or Christmas cards. Made out of left over shelving from the boy's room with b-board and letters with an ornament.

Christmas Treats

2011-12-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Making Christmas cookies with mom! He really got into it...:)

Making Ginger bread houses at Grandma's house! They had a blast with some help from Taylor and Tori.

Did I mention how goofy these boys are? Their aunts don't help! It was crazy! Love it!

Taylor's Remodeled Room

2011-12-11T19:51:00.001-08:00

This is my little Sister Taylor, she is one of my best friends and it was so much fun to re-do her room. She has had a hard couple of years with a few surgeries on her leg and not moving out when she wanted to and coming home from Weber State so I thought it would be fun to change up her surroundings. I haven't figured out how to link my Pinterest account so you can see my original inspiration for the room, (Which I am so addicted to!) but our colors where grey, white and yellow. I also wish I would have taken a before picture to pare with the after picture, rookie mistake I guess.

This bedding we got a Target for $25! We really scored! It is so so close to what we wanted! Dad was wonderful and painted our accent wall a pale grey.

I found this white window frame for $3 at the Habitat Restore, I had to pick one up for me too which I will show you what I did with it later. :) I did a Moracan treatment with white vinyl and then yellow vertical strips.

With some other vinyl I did a grey chandelier on the glass part of the picture frame and on the other two mirrors I did tree branches.

I found two frames and DI and spray painted them grey and then placed cork-board on the inside for her to place more pictures and paper on and that balanced out the empty smaller walls.

We printed out her pictures in black and white and mod-podged them on cardboard in a T-shape.

This was the quote that she wanted, "Don't follow your dreams; chase them."

I took her purple lamp and spray painted it shinny black to match!

I loved this idea! Ok, so for her desk it had do personality and I wanted her to look at something while she did all that studying! So I found some fabric that matched our color scheme and glued it on to some cardboard and then tacked it on to the back of her desk, ( where before it was just a gaping hole). Then I took what fabric was left and made a matching chair cushion.

I found this lamp at DI for $4 and then we bought a new lamp shade for $4 as well!

We found these grey window treatments at walmart for $12 a piece and the I added the yellow ribbon for a little accent!

Everything is simple and clean just like how Tay likes it! I had so much fun spending time with my sis. I love you Taylor, thanks for that letting me use on a budget-remodeling fun I loved to do! You are the best!

Halloween

2011-11-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

We had our family party to celebrate Tori's birthday that is on Halloween. Can't believe she is 13! That is how old I was when she was born, crazy! Love ya Tori! I found the cutest Halloween book that boys love that you can see Bob reading to them. :)

Those Hamsters holding my boys are Kandace and Glen, the boys love that Kia Soul comerical that I talked about earlier so they were them for Halloween. It was hilarious! Easton was a little freaked out though.

I had to be Bat-Woman to fit in with my two little superheros!

He loves costumes and has worn in for two weeks and is still wearing it, he is sad to say starting to move on to Captain America.

These were there Trick-Or-Treat buckets I made for them. I made them cute little name tags because they kept switching back and forth on which color they wanted at that moment. I got them thermal PJs to go under their costumes for that night, flash lights, and super-hero juices to replenish themselves after trick-or-treating.

Halloween Party

2011-11-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

The cutest Ladybugs ever! Lily and Bryn

Weston and Stratton were Thor, a wild combination....

Janalee had a cute bingo game for the older girls.

The women that dressed up, Sarah, me and Heather.

The men seemed to stay in the kitchen and talk like usual.

The best costume of the night, Nico was Jess and Abbie was Heather.

All the kiddos, slight improvement from last years picture if you were there you know what I mean.

All my wonderful ladies, love you!

The boys were beating up on poor Jess' face...

Cute Shay!

I wrapped crate-paper around the juice boxes to make Frankensteins and mummy dogs for kids.

The treat bags turned out cute!

Halloween Crafts

2011-11-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Usually I love doing Halloween crafts, its one of my favorite times of year! They were a bit limited due to the number of migrains this month though. I saw a fun plate that had this quote and had to have it! I thought that it was fitting for Halloween so that was fun to make with vinyl.

The boys had fun decorating the their pumpkins!

This is my second attempt at glazing, which I love! I just need to find a mirror for it. I got this frame for $5 at DI.

South Fork Pictures

2011-10-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I wanted to mess around with my camera that I had got last Christmas. We need to get some professional photos done but I also wanted to try with my camera and see what it would do. They turned out not too bad, still have a lot to learn. (Especially when it comes to editing.) Jared and the boys do get tired of me trying to take pictures of them all the time. :)

Growing with Friends

2011-10-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Now they are so big! Zoe talks about getting married to Stratton in the temple, she even uses the word "sealed" and Stratton is such a guy and has no clue. He will ask if she wants to play Thor and Spiderman with him, they are at different stages at their lives now.

This was there first picture together in the fall leaves! Ah, so cute and fat! They are such funny little friends! I miss how little they were!!!

Janalee and I have been best friends for 10 years now. She makes me laugh so hard! We have had so pretty crazy times! She has been a should to lean on and I love her! It has been fun having our kids grow up together.

Hunting Season 2011

2011-10-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Jared had a great hunting season! He just came home with a 5x4 buck! He took the shot at 356 yards on Mt. Timpanogos. It took Jared, Randall and Phil 10 hours to get this deer of the mountain. They were in a pretty hairy spot. They had to even lower this guy off of many cliffs with a rope. Glad he is home! Jared grossed scored this deer at 147.

The boys love the deer, Stratton wants it mounted in his room and we have to keep Easton away from poking him.

These boys are proud of their dad!

The Red Barn

2011-10-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

We love going to the Red Barn in Santaquin, this year we went with Kandace and Glen while Jared was hunting. We went on a hayride, picked pumpkins, and got ice cream. It was a beautiful day! Thanks Kan and Glen for your help!

Creepy Pizzas

2011-10-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

I actually got him to smile.

The other day we had a fun play date where we made the cutest "creepy pizzas". I found this fun kit as target. The kids loved it! They put gummy worms, Frankenstein toes,skeletons and eyeballs on sugar cookies.

Fall Fun

2011-10-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Stratton made a new friend, Frank. (He is so animated!)

Easton was kissing and telling secrets to the scarecrow.

Helping Grandma pick pumpkins.

So, Grandma had a lot of help to say the least decorating her porch the other day....

My white ghost

2011-09-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday we were getting ready for church and we noticed it was awfully quiet and so we started looking everywhere for Easton. We couldn't find him in any of his usual places when we noticed a shadow in the pantry. Opened it, and this is what we found, A WHITE GHOST! Oh he just keeps getting into more trouble each day! I don't know where he comes up with these things. Yesterday we caught him in the top drawer of Stratton's dresser, its a good thing he weighs 20 lbs! Such a cute naughty little stinker!

Busy Boys

2011-09-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the boys doing some water coloring painting for the first time the other day. Easton decided it was more fun to paint on his tummy.

Stratton wears around Jared's dad's cowboy boots, its so cute!

Jared was getting ready to go hunting and of course the boys had to get ready too. They are so cute, had to be just like dad! They were a little devastated to learn that they weren't going when he left. (It was so sad, Stratton didn't except the answer that he wasn't old enough.)

"Mice" Commercial, Please!!!

2011-09-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

The boys beg for this commercial everyday and like to dance to it. Yes, it is what plays in my head all the time. Easton threw the biggest tantrum until he was blue in the face until I turned this back on. They are nuts!

Party Rock Anthem-Kia Soul Hamster Commercial [HD]: Party Rock Anthem-LM...

2011-09-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

Pirate Picnic

2011-09-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Stratton woke up this morning and old me that he wanted he had plans to go on a " Pirate Picnic" today with Easton and I. am pretty sure he got the idea while watching Disney's Jake and Pirates. Anyway, I thought I better make that happen. This is what I could come up with on such short notice. :) I found these cute sandwich holders in the dollar section at Target a couple months ago, first time using them.

Easton copies everything his brother does and kept on the eye-patch for longer than expected.

The sun was in his face, (Not in pain.)

They went on a treasure hunt and found their treat at the end of their lunch which I hid under the stroller after they went running around some trees and rocks. Perfectly tired out for a nap!

I tried...

2011-09-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried is all I can say. I took the boys to the Provo the Temple the other day because Stratton kept asking to go see it. It amazes me what both of them know already! They were so sweet on the way there, all excited, telling me that Moroni was made of gold and then Stratton told Easton to say, "The temple is Jesus' house Easton can you say that?" Then Easton repeated after him and he said, "Good job buddy!" So sweet and funny, then we got there and fountains were just too tempting I guess, they are after all little boys. No sweetness, no reverence. Mom chasing, Stratton squeezing little brother. Try again next time.

2011-09-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

It has happened, I had the weekend of all craft weekends. There is no going back, I will never have fake nails again! My sweet husband came home and instead of flowers got me a DREMEL! It was so cute because I was talking about everything I could accomplish with a tool like this the week before, (he was actually listening, yeah!).

I found this "Pirate wheel for Stratton at DI for $1.50, which was unfinished wood and painted it then roughed it up. It is the envy of the brothers and wish there is another.

Both of these frames were also DI for a dollar, (Have I mentioned how much I love DI!) that I repainted. I am loving the ABC theme I am seeing every where and Stratton is right at that stage and so I just glued some chipboard numbers and letters on scrapbook paper.

In this frame is a famous quote this going around my family that Stratton has been saying for a few months now so I decided to frame and put in my kitchen. It turned out pretty cute!

I also finally got around to trying one of the "coffee filter wreaths" that I have seen everywhere! I turned out ok, I think it needs some minor adjustments and a new spot, ew like a refurbished window. That will be next weekend's project I think.

Ta-da! This was my baby this weekend! My new love is first of all this color, and second of all re-doing old things! I love, love, love how this mirror turned out! This was an old vanity that I got for $3, it was my first time trying glaze that I learned out to do from the "show and tell" blog that I follow and it worked! I have so many more ideas like this with my new little tool, I think that part of it is due to the fact that my new favorite show is "Sister Pickers"!

Next week.........

Boy's Daily Schedule

2011-08-31T14:49:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get Stratton use to a schedule for the fall, even though he is not going to pre-school until next year. So, I found this clip board, for $1 and painted it a fun green. Then I used my left over vinyl colors from the chore chart and cut them into strips and applied them to the board. Next I just made my own schedule with free clip art, found online. I taped them so I could change it around, I am not a stickler on time and I know not everyday will be the same but it will be nice for him to look at something and start to get a routine.

DIY Chore Chart

2011-08-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

I bought 3 inch wood circles and painted them brown- .30 cents each, then I placed magnets on the back of each circle. I had two sizes of magnet boards that I got for $2 a piece when Simply Splendid moved a few months ago! I cut out different chores with different colors of vinyl on my Silhoutte machine. Next after applying all the vinyl I glued on ribbon and robe, I tried to do a sailor knot to go with their "little pirate" look that they wanted, that the best that it turned out but still cute!

Stratton chose the "pirate steering wheel" and Easton wanted the "pirate hat".

Next after applying all the vinyl I glued on ribbon and robe, I tried to do a sailor knot to go with their "little pirate" look that they wanted, that the best that it turned out but still cute!

So far they have loved doing their chores! They move over the circle when they have done the chore and I have more circles made for as they grow!

My Stud Muffins(They never let me call them that!)

2011-08-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

How handsome are my men?! I love it when they are all dressed up on Sundays! They look more and more like their dad every day, I am so lucky! All 3 cause trouble...and all 3 are so worth it! On a daily basis they teach me who I want to be, thanks and Iove you guys!

Mossy Ball

2011-08-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

I have seen these moss balls all over in design show rooms and on TV, and love them! They can get pricey so the other when I was at the Dollar Store I found a package of the small moss balls. I went to Hobby Lobby and purchase a foam ball and hot glued on the moss balls. It looked a little sparse so I added some left over moss I had (also from the dollar store) from some Spring project. I have been waiting to use this rustic pot that I found at DI for a dollar. I am slowly changing the style of my kitchen to more rustic and it will fit right in!

A touch of Zoe

2011-08-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

I found 3 of these antique photo frames at DI a few months ago and I only needed 2 for my room so we used the other for Zoe's room. Janalee and I painted it black and and added some fabric that would match the rest of Zoe's room and it turned out so cute! We will have to post a picture once Janalee has her whole room done. She is such a little princess Diva that is looks perfect!

Melissa's Bridal Shower

2011-08-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

Ah, those fun pictures that make her turn red too!
Some of her fun gifts to start of her new apartment!

Us older sisters have been friends since were little, Amber, me, Melissa, Kandace, and Jen.
This is her Bridal Shower invite that Sarah made for me, (You are the best, thanks Sarah!). Her colors for her wedding are purple and green so that is what we used for the theme of the shower.

Wedding Shower Decor

2011-08-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

We cut limes to go in the base of the purple and green floral arrangement.
We filled brown paper bags with white chocolate covered popcorn as the "thank you" gifts. I wish I would have taken a picture of the popcorn! We dripped purple and green chocolate over the top, it was so pretty.
The banner turned out really cute, you probably can't tell from the cut off picture but it says, "Melissa & David".

Kandace makes the best cake pops ever! They were chocolate inside and I got to help put the sprinkles on, that was about it. (Otherwise I would mess them up, I don't mix with cake pops apparently and she is a little protective of them.)

Wedding Day Survival Kit Present

2011-08-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is the temple block I personalized with her wedding date for her actual wedding gift and the "Wedding day survival kit" was for the shower.

This was a fun idea that I got from this blog
http://creativetryals.blogspot.com/2011/07/wedding-day-survival-kit-wedding-shower.html
and put my own spin on it! It had all the fun things it that I wish I had thought of on my wedding day! Things like clear nail polish, deodorant, sewing kit, water, munchies, hairspray, wet wipes, compact mirror, mints, tissues and more. Wrap some cute scrapbook paper and labels on it and you are good to go, it was a very easy tutorial.

Target Big Score!

2011-07-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

I have been couponing for a couple of years now and sometimes I get a few good deals and sometimes I get really frustrated. Especially after that new show"Extreme couponing" came out about coupons on TLC where they get ridiculous deals that there are impossible to get it seems! Well I finally did the best I have ever done! This is what I did;
Target had in AF had these cute Denim Jeans on sale for $4.98! Which is already awesome but I went to their website and they had a Target coupon for $3 off any Denim for men/women and so it made these jeans $1.98! Amazing right?!
Then they had a coupon for kids denim $2 off so I found some kids jeans for $4 which made them $2!

Now this shirt I got for Tori was on Clearance for $3.20 and there is a Target coupon for $2 off any graphic Tee so it made her t-shirt $1.20! So cute and cheap! I also got some school supplies for her:
Bic pens were on sale for .50 , had a coupon for $1 off 2- made them free!
Tape was .50 and had target coupon for .50 off and manufactures coupon for $1 off so I made .50 cents for two of them!
I grabbed a few more items for way cheap with doubling up a manufactures coupon and target coupon together. It was a great trip this time!

Accident Prone For Sure!

2011-07-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

My pictures kinda posted backwards but Easton has had two little accidents over the past week and a half! He first fell of his little camping chair in his room and fell on a toy tool bench that went right into the back of his head and had to get two staples.
He got those staples out on Monday and then on Thursday he was jumping on Stratton's bed and fell off and landed on a toy elephant that split open his eyebrow and had to get 5 stitches. These plastic toys are dangerous! I should have took posted of the dangerous culprits so that you can beware as well. Man, this kid is going to be in the ER a lot. Poor little guy woke up this morning and he was all swollen, which is the first picture I posted. I am just praying that we can make is five days with out ripping the stitches open. Wish me luck!

The Petting Zoo At Wolf Creek

2011-07-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

Since it was Glen's Bday he wanted to go to the this petting zoo while we were at our reunion and the boys were thrilled. Well, Stratton was, it took Easton a little bit to warm up to the animals you could say.

Holt Reunion-Wolf Creek

2011-07-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Tis the season for reunions and we just had our second one of the summer, our Holt family reunion. The past two years we have had this one up in Wolf Creek instead of Park City and this year we stayed in these really nice homes! We went swimming and played, it was so relaxing except for we missed Jared! He had an emergency at work and couldn't get away and I am very lucky that I had my family's help.

These our 4 missionaries leaving over the next few months, and Cy the next year. They will be amazing!

Thomas Family Reunion-Midway!

2011-07-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

This year we got to get together with my dad's side of the family in Midway for a family reunion. It is always nice to see everybody from my dad's side because we have family from Texas and so we don't get to see everybody as often as we would like. Growing up I was the only girl of 4 boy cousins and we had so much fun! Now we that we are grown up and married and moved and away from each things are sure different so it was nice to see each other again. I am very grateful for the grandparents that I had and the family that raised me, I have been very blessed to be surrounded by family.

(Glen is a little excited to play water guns with Stratton and Stratton loves to play with Glen...)

The Thomas Clan minus our two minus missionaries Brittany and Austin.
Swimming with Aunt Traci

Hiking Boys

2011-07-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

We have gone on a few little hikes the past month and the last one Jared took more than his more than his share....

More of the 4th of July!

More of the 4th

2011-07-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

We went on a little hike up the Provo Trail to start off the day. Easton loves drinking fountains, Jared and Stratton freaked me out by walking on the big water pipe at the mouth of the canyon and we did some fireworks of course.

They are such squirrels when I try to take cute pictures!

4th of July

2011-07-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

The four sisters!

Jared went fishing that morning and brought some yummy big fishy for the bbq that night.

Exploring Bob's fun deck.

Eating snowcones!

Stratton With "Gwampa", its no longer "papa". He is growing up!
Easton with Aunt Taylor

Easton is Crazy...

2011-06-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is just to give you a little idea of what my day is like ;)

Some of Summer

2011-06-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Orem Fest and it finally felt like Summer! It has really felt like we got a late start. Easton almost jumped out of the ride so they had to stop it, he is such a Curious George! He is not afraid of things, just explores. He is going to be my accident prone child for sure. He wasn't so sure about the fish, but will grab a snake...

2011-06-18T18:50:00.001-07:00

Scrapbooking design customized with Smilebox

Mother's Day

2011-05-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

These are my handsome little men on Mother's Day, who I am so grateful for! I love being a mother! It has taught me so much. I am very grateful for my own mother in my life who has given me a wonderful example on how to care and nurture my children. She has shown me what it means to be a mother of Zion and she helps me every day. I have been very blessed with strong women in my life all around me my grandmothers, sisters, friends, aunts and much more that have helped me grow and become a better women and mother each day.

Diane Graduated

2011-05-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

My sis-in-law Diane graduated from the University of Phoenix last Sat and we almost had everybody there and were able to get a good picture of at least all of the cousins, yeah! They sure have a blast running around. Congrats Diane!

Finally the Dinosaur Museum!

2011-05-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Stratton has been waiting to go to the Dinosaur Museum for months! He is at that age where he loves them, and his brother loves whatever he does. They had a blast. Stratton was a little OCD about getting dirty in the sand and water like always but they were so funny!

Not so Fun Easter

2011-05-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is our Easter....we caught a stomach bug and were sick that weekend. It was so sad Stratton didn't even care about his anything, he let Easton dump out his basket and play with his toys at 430 that morning. At least we were all together!

Coloring Eggs with Grandma

2011-05-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Quick little Projects

2011-05-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

I got these sandals on a Buy one get one free deal and Head over heals and they were just a little too plain for me. So I found some cute trim at Hobby Lobby for .85 cents for half a yard and glued it on. I am thinking about vamping up some of my other shoes now!

These are some plastic eggs I found on sale for .35 cents at Hobby Lobby on sale! I got some rope at the dollar store and glued it one in different patterns like I did with the decor balls I did awhile back. I am not the biggest fan of Easter decor and these were pretty simple!

Spring Dollar Store Trip

2011-04-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

I purchased a blue pot at the dollar store and painted it white and then lightly sprayed over it with a textured finish. Then i also got foam, moss, and peony flowers. I had some large twigs that stuck into the foam on the bottom and then on the top a glued in the flowers. Total cost $6!

My spring wreath from the dollar store was a little messy! They have these wonderful moss sheets that have wire on the back. I cut a rectangle out of cardboard and glue on about 6 sheets of moss. Then I placed my ribbon and some flowers with fun glitter butterflies. It looked so cute on the door but was too messy and so ended up on my shelf. Total cost $8!

Conference Weekend

2011-04-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to Conference weekend. It always amazes me how the talks seem to be geared towards me. I love our prophet and could definitely feel how strong the spirit was through out the sessions. I do often think back to times when I did take listening for granted though...
Saturday during priesthood session us girls (and two little boys) went shopping. We decided to make a contest since not every sister was as thrilled. Who could find the cheapest and cutest prizes were given out. I love being with my sisters! We loved having Taylor home from school for the weekend too. They are my best friends, they have such sweet hearts and are always helping with the boys. The boys love their aunts too! I am very lucky.

Then on Sunday Jared set up the tent for the boys to watch the morning session in. Stratton has been learning about King Benjamen teaching the people in their tents we thought it would make him pay attention a little more. (A little) They loved it. It makes me so excited to watch him learn and grow, it makes you feel good as a parent that things are sticking. It helps on the days that are very difficult with a 2 year old (Which have been so many lately!). I think that is what I liked about conference over all, the "mother talks". They are usually a little "pick-me-up" and remind me why I have my little boys and what I can do for them.

Chuck-E-Chesse With "Papa"

2011-04-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last week we went with my dad to Chuck-E-Cheese. The boys call my parents "papa and mama" for grandpa and grandma. They sure loved playing games and it was almost torture to eat pizza to get back to playing more games. Thanks for coming with us dad!

St. Pattrick's Day Play Date

2011-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Lily is always smiling and Easton had just woke up from a nap and was not smiling. She is so cute! I did a lot of pinching, even if she had green on.
Easton didn't mind his Tattoo but Stratton is too OCD and cried until I wiped it off.
These were the trouble makers! We took a lot of pictures to just get this one! They were so funny though! I think that they all had fun.
Sarah's Birthday was on the 6th and mine is on the 23rd and so Abbie made us a cake that said "256" Sarah just turned 25 and I am turning 26. Thanks Abbie, it was yummy!

More Play Date

2011-03-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

We brought the picnic table inside since it was a rainy day for the kids.

The party favor was pop rocks and shamrock tattoos.
Old fashion Rootbeer and green treats were completed the set up!

The kids had chicken nuggets while the women had cafe rio pork salads that were so yummy!

Little Girl Glam Props

2011-03-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to finish up some crafts between the potty breaks this past week. I made some fun tutus and headbands for Sarah who just started her new photo business. I am hoping to get everything done to put up on Etsy soon. Anyway, these pictures are not the greatest and you will soon be able to see them much cuter on little girls on Sarah's little models. She is so talented, she did Easton's 1 year photos. If you want to check out her website here it is.
http://www.fancyfaceportraiture.com/

Protein Jars

2011-02-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

I like using what I already have. I have been seeing everybody organizing their pantry with nice glass jars and vinyl on all of the craft blogs. Well these are Jared's protein plastic jars, that turned out to work out great too! I think that I would vinyl everything if I could.

St. Patrick's Day Wreath

2011-02-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

I decided that I don't have any St Patty's day decor. So I took my old spray painted black wreath that I attempted to use at Halloween and placed burlap behind it with cardboard. Then I found a cute wooden Shamrock, scrapbook paper, mod-podge. paint, ribbon and toole.

Weekend of Snow

2011-02-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

I am trying to enjoy the snow that came this weekend, k not really. Well, the boys did. While I did some shoveling they got to play. Stratton was a great help like always with the shovel. ;) It was actually Easton's first time playing in it, which didn't last too long. He must be like me, not a fan of the cold! It ended it tears...

My little Valentines

2011-02-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

These two are the cutest little stud muffins! I love dressing them alike. (Which I know Jared makes fun of me for, and I use to hate be matching as a kid. Although now, is so much fun!) They got a few little fun toys and a movie for Valentines and lots of kisses!

Valentine Charms

2011-02-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

For our girl's night this month we did a Valentine craft and I made all my girlfriends a Valentine necklace charm. I also made some for my mom and sisters they were so easy and cute! Then I made some some pillow boxes with scrapbook paper with my machine.

Easton's Birthday

2011-02-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

Bob gave Easton a giant polar bear to go with his arctic bday theme. It is so soft!

We also celebrated my dad's birthday on Sunday so we were able to get them both on the cake. It is actually a picture of my dad feeding Easton cake at Christmas.

Bday Fun

2011-02-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

Penguin Theme Bday

2011-02-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

Since penguins eat fish there was lots of fish snacks...

These were the gift bags, I got really lucky on some after Christmas clearance with his whole penguin theme. I saw that most first birthdays were monkeys which was cute but since it was still winter I thought a penguin would be cute!
Since all of Stratton and Easton's friends are under the age of 3 and mostly babies this is what the gift bags looked like:
-A Monogrammed onezie with a penguin on it, white for the boys and pink for the girls.
-Little stuffed animal penguin.
-Penguin book for the babies and a car toy for the older boys

Cupcake Tower

2011-02-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

I love Cupcake Wars on the Foodnetwork, Stratton and I watch it every Tuesday night. Anyway this is our mini version for Easton's winter glacier theme for his penguins.

His birthday banner was so easy with my Silhoutte machine. I did Stratton's 2nd bday banner by hand and that took forever!

It's my party and I can cry if I want to...

2011-01-23T09:48:00.000-08:00

I don't think he liked how messy his hands got. It went downhill really fast. So funny!

Easton's Birthday Pictures

2011-01-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my little baby is almost one! Sarah just took his pictures the other day and she did an amazing job. He loves the camera! Here are just some of the of fun pictures. The top cake pictures were fun for a minute until it went bad....next post....

This Week's crafts-check!

2011-01-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

I am so stoked about my other Christmas present, the Silhoutte machine. Love it! I got very lucky so now I can do all of my craft stuff and then take pictures of them and post it. Stratton wanted a deer and elk for above his bed. Easy!
I first had some left-over pieces of bead-board, I brushed on some Walnut Stain with a sponge brush and rubbed of the excess.
Then once that was dry I printed out the elk and deer with some white vinyl and applied.
I love my machine and am thinking of starting an Etsy account with all sorts of Gifts. (More to come on that later...)
This is what our next craft for Enrichment, they were super easy and cheap. There is a wonderful place up in Salt Lake called the Wood Connection. They have tons of unfinished wood. So I painted the block, glued a knob on top and then glued the picture on. After that dries I mod-podged over the top of the picture with a rolling paint brush and it gave it an professional finish. A little ribbon and toole and fancy!!!

Valentine Crafts

2011-01-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

This is my fun Valentine wreath that I made with Sarah. Some yarn, ribbon and felt!

This is my Valentine block with same technique that I did with the felt for the wreath. Then a block and some mod popdged scrapbook paper. This was another fun craft to do with Ali.

New Camera!

2011-01-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

I am loving my new SLR camera that I got for Christmas! I can't stop taking pictures of these two cute buddies! The fun thing is they love getting their pictures taken too, what a great combo. They are so goofy as you can see and getting way too big.

New Years

2011-01-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

Easton and Stratton had a fun little New Years. This holiday is really different when you have little ones. Jared and I got to go to Tucanos by ourselves and then came back to my parent's house for more food, fun and games. Both boys actually made it until midnight and then some! We are all excited for the new year!

Too many pics so here is our christmas slideshow

2010-12-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

This free slideshow design customized with Smilebox

Easton's first Christmas

2010-12-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

Easton had a great first Christmas! He was so funny. He didn't feel to on Christmas Eve since he was teething but on Christmas day he got more into it. He would not keep on his cute santa hat for the life of him though. He is such a doll!

The Tractor was a big hit!

2010-12-28T20:56:00.002-08:00

Christmas Sweaters

2010-12-28T20:56:00.001-08:00

Personalize a free digital ecard

Easton is on the run...

2010-12-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

Easton has been walking for almost a month now I just have struggled to get it on video. Whenever I would whip out the camera he would stop and cry. Now that he is walking everywhere I finally got it! He just has to keep up with Stratton I guess. He started walking a 9 months and he is so little, it looks funny!

Tutu Fun

2010-11-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

I made some fun christmas tutus for my two friends that have little girls. They were so easy, I got the idea off of one of the craft blogs. I wish I could remember which one, I end up looking at so many. My camera is awesome and its hard to see but there is cute Christmas ribbon in between the tole and a fun little clip to match. Anyway, the pink and brown tutu is for my friend having her little girl in January.

Our Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

Poor little guy was wiped out from being sick.

We had an interesting week...Stratton and Easton got the flu before Thanksgiving. Then after Thanksgiving the rest of my family got it. It wiped everybody out. My sister Tay had to get her Gal bladder and appendix out on top of it all. It was crazy! Stratton had his first sleepover at Kandace and Glen's apartment so that Easton could get better acquainted with his crib. (Crying all night.) The turkey and ham was fabulous though and it was nice to be around family. We did things a little different this year and had dinner at my mom's house instead of going up to my grandparents, so there wasn't a lot of driving for once. My cousin is leaving on his mission this week so we got to see my dad's side of the family too.

More Thanksgiving Photos

2010-11-29T16:59:00.000-08:00

My little Rockstar!
Stratton and Easton ate lots of pie withe Grandma and Grandpa!

The little Band

2010-11-18T11:59:00.000-08:00

The other day I was watching Zoe and Brennan for Janalee and when the 4 of them get together it is crazy! Zoe wanted all of them to be in a band, with the older ones on the guitars, Easton on the drums and Brennan with the Maraca it was...loud!

Double Trouble

2010-11-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

My boys drive my crazy on a daily baisis, although I can't help but look at these cute faces and just love them even more. I have had a few of those "hard-mom-days" for those of you who know what I am talking about. I just hope that I can make it through these next few years of trouble and fun.
Stratton is almost 2 and a half now and is sooo much trouble! He is constantly pushing my buttons and his limits. I have no idea how to deal with this kid most days, however he is the sweetest and post polite little boy. He just looks more and more like Jared every day!

Easton is 9 months now and started taking some steps the other day. He follows and copies everything that his brother does which makes me worry! He is still a mommy's boy which melts my heart though. He is getting bigger, exploring more and getting into everything! He is still not sleeping through the night, waking up at least 3 times. It is a work in progress, all I know is that I could not do this alone. Motherhood is hard and my wonderful husband, and family help me so much. I know that I could not be these little boys mother with out the Lord's help. He really gives me the strength I need, with no sleep most of the time to give them what they need.

DI Find

2010-11-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting some cute jars for my kitchen but have found that they can be so expensive, so I went to DI and found these 3 jars for about a dollar a piece, I also found the wooden candlestick for a dollar.
Then I went to Michaels and got three wooden tops point/tops for the lids- in the picture there is a ball but I went back and got a third, so they would all match.

Before I painted them green, I actually painted them black. I decided to paint them black and then they looked to boring so I got a little bottle of crackle paint from Roberts Craft for two dollars. It was easy, I painted a coat of black, a coat of crackle paint and then a coat of the green over it and it started to instantly crackle.
I then glued all my pieces together.
Next I went to the dollar store where I found the last two bottoms for the skinny jars that I did the same process of paint to and I found all of my decor that was inside the jars. Total cost about $4 dollars a Jar!

This was a fun little leaf board we did for Enrichment Craft night that I am over.

Where a kid can be a kid...

2010-11-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

We had a family date the other night and took the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese. Tori also came with us and helped us keep tabs on him Stratton, he went crazy! Last time I took him I think he was One and he didn't know what to do. However this time, he was a madman, he loved it! Easton wanted to play like his big brother but was limited poor little guy. Oh, to be a little kid again...

We are all here!

2010-11-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

My dad finally got 4 boys added to the family!
All together!
The boys adore "gamama and papa"
The newly-weds
Mom and Dad-the foundation.

More family pics

2010-11-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

My baby...
All the gals
The older version of our engagement pic?

Tori's Bday/More Halloween

2010-11-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Halloween Week

2010-11-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

We had a busy Halloween weekend. Saturday was full of fun trick or treating, Sunday was my sister's Tori' bday and through out the week we had some friend parties. The boys were the cutest little dragons you have ever seen! Stratton is a little obsessed with the new movie, "How to train your dragon". He has kind of gotten over his Toy story phase and is now into robots, action heroes, dinosaurs and dragons.

We visited baby Kaiden who was a cute little monkey!
Best little buds, Easton and Weston!
Our group little monsters, that would kind of participate for the photo... it was in the middle of nap time.

Trick Or Treating

2010-11-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

Fall Girls Night In

2010-10-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

This Month we decided to do Girls Night In instead of Out. We had a fun fall theme. We sent all the kids with the guys to watch the UFC fights and had dinner and made toilet paper pumpkins and fall wreaths. I am gonna leave it up to Sarah or Abbie to post these pics on Facebook since we know how challenged I am that way. Thanks girls it was a blast!

More Girls Night

2010-10-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

The Fun Fall Wreaths
Sarah, Heather, Abbie, Jess, Janalee and Me
I made fun fall earring for everyone in cute little coffin boxes.
Yummy chocolates cupcakes
We had the famous white chili in fun pumpkin bread bowls.

Pumpkin Patch Pics

2010-10-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Good Things Utah Visit

2010-10-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

These are my fun Boo Blocks that I made, which turned out so cute and cheap!

I used:
Left over wood from framing our basement- free
Halloween scrapbook paper from the Dollar Section at Target
Vinyl from the Cricket
Mod modged it all on it all on one afternoon after painting the sides black and there you go!
Rosanna got my sister Kandace and I tickets to one of my shows I like to watch on the days that Stratton doesn't steal the remote from me in the mornings; GOOD THINGS UTAH!
It was fun to hang out with my sis and spend a little time away with out the boys. They got to hang out and my grandparents house up in Salt Lake. The girls on the show were actually really nice in person.

Then we of course needed to take pictures with our favorite actors! Kandace and I are obsessed with Vampire Diaries!

We are Alive...

2010-10-24T17:29:00.001-07:00

Stratton is so big now! I can't believe the things that come out of his mouth! He is so full of energy, it is hard to keep up with at times. He is very excited for Halloween.
Jared went duck hunting the other night and Stratton was so excited when he brought some of them home. Jared even cooked some of the meat the next night and he loved it. Not my favorite, but Stratton just wanted, "more duck meat please!"

Easton is into everything...the fridge, toilet, my purse and was very curious about Jared's hunting bag when he was packing for his hunt.

2010-10-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

RIP Glue Gun

2010-09-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you that know me, you know that I love to use my glue gun for everything! It died on me this morning. I am unable to finish my projects...I hate that feeling. I normally like to pick one thing a week or so to work on and I am feeling a little helpless. Crafting is my down-time, what keeps my sane and now that I am finally starting to get the boys on somewhat of a schedule I am getting a little time for myself here and there. So until I get a new gun, goodbye to crafts....for now.

Stratton's moose

2010-09-22T11:42:00.001-07:00

Stratton has had a little moose head above his bead that he loves and it is so small it has been bugging so I wanted to make it a little bit of a bigger piece to look at. So I went to Roberts and got some little wood pieces and painted them white, roughed them up a bit and glued them into a rustic frame that I had that matches his room. I mod-podged on scrapbook paper on the letter "s" and then put the Moose back on. I like it a lot better, even though it is simple I think.
Didn't I mention that he discovered how to get out of his crib so we had to change it into a toddler/day bad now? Not fun. Somebody sneaks into our bed every night now, there goes a little bit more of my freedom out the window...

Oh, and another thing...little E is started crawling at 6 1/2 months old! He is now into everything, (like my laundry) and following Stratton where ever he goes. He now thinks he needs to walk is walking along the couch and I am praying he slows down a little bit.