The Way I see the World

Graham Cracker Construction

2012-01-12T16:02:00.001-07:00

Every year, for as long as I can remember, my family always makes Graham Cracker houses at Christmas time. Since I was the host, I had the big job of making the perfect frosting to stick everything together.

Eleanor is getting better each year. She added lots of cute embellishments to her house this year.

Grandma made the adorable wagon and even came prepared with her own set of mini lights to decorate it!

Grandpa's bird house was awesome.

I went for some charming row houses this year. Loved the wafer-cooking "siding".

Matt had grand plans for his Parthenon and did pretty well getting as much as possible done before he had to hop on a flight back home. The rest was left in ruins...
Gavin was busy constructing his Christmas present, so he had to take a pass this year. That means we expect great things next year!

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

2012-01-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a beautiful Christmas morning together. I love seeing the kids come out together when they hear the Christmas music. This might be the last year we get them both in footie pajamas. :)

The first thing Katie saw was this sucker from Grandma and Grandpa. The presents could have stopped right there for her and she would have been fine. That girl is a sucker for suckers, yes, I couldn't help it.

I love how sweet these two are about giving gifts to each other. Katie knew exactly what she wanted to get for Eleanor and after we were lucky to find it - she promptly told Eleanor precisely what it was. She still couldn't wait to "surprise" her with her gift. Eleanor made Katie a little paintbrush holder for her watercolor brushes and got her new paints. That is Katie's super favorite past time. Seeing how much they love each other just melts my heart!

Katie did a little better keeping her gift to Dad a surprise. She held it in ... right up until this moment when she hands him his gift and says, "You can open your surprise - it's a Dr. Seuss shirt." Hilarious!

Eleanor didn't ask Santa for anything. She doesn't really play with toys that often, so figuring out the perfect gift for her was hard. We decided on her own set of scriptures with her name on them. I wasn't sure what her reaction would be, but this look was genuine. It really was her favorite gift. I'm so glad. Especially when she told me that was what she was secretly hoping for. Whew!

We enjoyed having a leisurely Christmas morning followed by a great church service. And Christmas dinner was so fantastic, I'm still thinking about it. The kids felt incredibly spoiled by everyone's generosity. There was lots of love for all our family, friends, and most of all our Savior whose birth we celebrated!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

It was a first for us to host family at our house for Christmas! We were so excited to have a new blanket of snow to make everything beautiful. Once Katie discovered eating the white stuff she didn't stop. I think it's her new favorite food.

It was too powdery to stick together, but Eleanor and Katie managed to make some cute snow blobs.

Of course, time with cousins was a huge highlight! Lilly usually prefers to play with Eleanor, but since she was unavailable - she and Katie had some sweet bonding moments together.

Our nephew Tyler is just the cutest thing.

We started a hair-braiding party and pretty soon everyone was sporting them - even Tyler, who has some spectacular locks for a 10 month old.

Our efforts at a Nativity presentation were somewhat laughable - but hey, we were having fun. Eleanor was the angel, Katie was a wise man (she presented her balloon gift on bended knee), Lilly was Mary.

Matt, the shepherd, very closely watching his flock by night.

The kids all enjoyed getting a special video from Santa that highlighted something specific they were working on this year. Luckily, they were all on the nice list, so there was a lot of anticipation going to bed Christmas Eve.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

We love to sent Christmas cards to our distant family and friends. Just in case this didn't come in the mail, you can enjoy our card here!

Eleanor and I have enjoyed going to the Nutcracker together every year since she was about 5. This year we checked out a different local production of it in Loveland. It was great - and we were able to sit super-close to the front.

Katie has been enjoying all the fun of Christmas - epecially our daily Christmas book tradition and all the music. Her favorite song of the year is Santa Baby and I just can't get enough of her rendition.

We hope your Christmas is meaningful and lovely!

Giving Thanks

2011-12-22T17:12:00.003-07:00

We headed out to Utah for Thanksgiving break. Eleanor was out of school all week, so we figured we might as well take the whole week off! Monday we hit lots of our favorite places: The Distribution Center, Cafe Rio, Orson Gygi and a special backstage tour of the local high school musical.

You never know when you might need a long-handled tablespoon or this awesome #10 can size of Libby's Pumpkin, which we couldn't resist. Yum.

Then, things took an unexpected turn. Gavin started having some horrible pain Monday night, so we went to the ER and discovered he needed his Gallbladder out. So, Gav and I spent Tuesday checking out the local hospital cuisine (well, I did) and recovering from gallbladder surgery! Not what we planned for our vacation.

It was a blessing to have all our family around for that turn of events. Gavin got a blessing from his dad, his mom bailed me out with food and support just when I needed it, and we had lots of help with the girls. Including hair do's - I've never managed to get Katie to hold still long enough for that! What awesome aunts they have. Thanks Megan and Shannon!

Luckily, everything went smoothly for Gavin's recovery and he was even up to eating some turkey by Thanksgiving. We enjoyed being with both of our families and seeing my Grandma Virgin from Idaho.

Most of our fun plans for the week got put on the backburner, but we did make it to the brand new Museum of Natural History with the Paynes. The girls loved all the cool dinosaur skeletons and especially "digging" for dinosaur bones.

We're getting a little weary of surprises when we travel, so Christmas is at our house this year!

A Very Important Date

2011-11-01T15:27:00.000-06:00

We had a great time celebrating Halloween this year! We decided to redo a theme we first used six year ago and went with Alice and Wonderland. It was Katie's turn to be little Alice, so Eleanor took on The White Rabbit. This was the first time we've had complete strangers ask to take our picture and it happened twice! So, who knows where we're floating around the internet today. :)

Talk about a perfect night for Trick-or-Treating! It felt like fall in the air, but no jackets required. There were nice crunchy leaves all around (who would have guessed they were buried in snow last week?). This was Katie's first year really getting into it, and she did a great job shouting out her "Trick or Treat's" and "Thank You's." That was probably because I told her if she didn't say thank you loud enough, Mom got to eat the candy. She kept reminding me she said it loud enough, so no candy for me! They got plenty of treats going up our street, so we came home to hand out candy and watch The Adams Family and The Munsters.

Just for comparison sake, here is our last go at Alice in 2005!

I got to find my own costume for a friend's party this year. Gavin found this awesome string of pearls, so I went for Audrey Hepburn. Even tried fake eyelashes for the first time. It was great fun!

Fwinter in Telluride

2011-10-26T15:19:00.000-06:00

We took a little fall getaway trip to Telluride a couple weeks ago. Thanks to finally having local family (anyone else planning on moving to the state, we promise we don't abuse that too much) we got to go kid-free! I didn't think we were lucky they were getting their first snow of the season the weekend we were there, but it turned out great. We got the best of both worlds, fall color and snow! or FWinter as we called it.

One of my favorite shots from Last Dollar Road.

I don't know how they did this, since I spent an hour knocking snow off my aspens. Theirs just plastered the evergreens and the ground!

Telluride has the coolest public transportation system ever - Gondolas! Our hotel was up on the mountain, so you could ride these to the top (10,500ft) and then down into the town. Awesome.

The mountains around Telluride were some of the most beautiful I've ever seen! It's a little box canyon just surrounded by huge mountain peaks. This is the view from the end of Main Street.

Proof that we were both actually there. I always forget to include people when I'm in the zone.

This little aspen grove had every color! Usually we only get the gold, so I appreciate a splash of red.

Talk about a perfect weekend. Camera time, hubby time, 5 star hotel at a Groupon price. Fabulous!

The virgin Virgin Reunion

2011-09-20T15:21:00.003-06:00

I guess it's a sign that my family is growing up! Most of my siblings are married and we're spread out in 3 states and 2 countries, so we don't get to see each other that often. This summer was our first Virgin Family Reunion. My sister-in-law hooked us up with this sweet Ranch house in Star Valley, WY.

Eleanor's writing the Bunk House rules: no snoring, keeping people awake, etc.

It was great to see Jessica, Blake and little Charlotte from Australia. They win the prize for the most miles traveled to get there.

Having 4 babies under 1 didn't slow us down much at all! These are mad skills for a new dad, David!

We did a lot of rock-skipping in the creek and here's Matt harvesting the power of the sun!

We went on a lovely hike up to Intermittent Springs, yes with me in my boot!

Katie suckered Grandma into carrying her for awhile. I don't think Grandma minded too much.

Eleanor enjoying the natural air-conditioning from this huge snow pile - in August!

It was great to have a whole week together. Plenty of time for kite-flying, games, lounging on the porch, going swimming, playing ping pong, golfing, and having your cool aunt braid your hair!

Jessica started us on this game where you try to find safety pins in a bucket of rice with your eyes closed. Amazingly hard!

I think my favorite event of the week was the family talent show. I knew we were a creative bunch - but even the little ones brought their summersaults, clapping, and toe-eating skills to show! Add that to some juggling, 100 push-ups in a minute, splits, singing, handsprings, poetry readings and it was a pretty entertaining night!

Megan was prepared to teach us all how to tie-dye. This was actually my first time, and it was really fun!

We had a great time in a lovely spot. The weather was perfect at a steady 76 all week! I sure missed that when we came home to the 90s for another month.

Seems like those years between hanging out with all my brothers and sisters as teenagers, when we really enjoyed each other, and moving on to our own families have gone so quickly. I'm glad we took the time to get together this year. Looking at these pictures makes me miss you all!

Eleanor's Hair-raising Adventure

2011-08-16T15:46:00.006-06:00

Last week, my sister and I were driving all the kids up to Star Valley, WY for our family reunion. The husbands were coming the next day. We stopped at Little America to get some ice cream and let the kids play. Eleanor was climbing up the slide and stood up into the bar that goes across the top. She cried for a minute; I checked her out; there was no blood or anything, so we went on our way.

About an hour later (by now we are really in the middle of nowhere Wyoming) she starts to complain that her head hurts. And then, pretty quickly she starts deteriorating. She can't stop crying, is fidgeting around the seat, can't see to find her drink (right next to her), etc. At this point, I start to worry that it's not just a headache from wacking her head. Jenny starts to look up the nearest hospital, which is in Montpelier, ID. So, we do a u-turn and head there as quickly as we can. Every time Eleanor cries out, Jenny's little Evie joins in too, so the noise is just getting louder and louder. Meanwhile, we're trying to get in touch with our parents and all my siblings who are headed up to the reunion as well, but there is no cell-phone reception there.

We were only about 15 minutes from the hospital, which seemed a lot longer. When we got there, I pulled Eleanor out of the car and while walking inside, she couldn't even step normally. I drag her inside and there is not a soul in sight. Imagine it like a scene from the Twilight Zone when you finally find a hospital when you're desperately in need of help, only to find that there is no one there! Finally, someone must have heard her screaming and came to help us. The next few hours were pretty awful. She was acting like she was in horrible pain, and not responding to my voice at all. She kept crying out for me (even though I was right there) and then praying out loud to Heavenly Father and saying "somebody, please help me." Scary stuff! She didn't know her name and couldn't answer any questions. The nurses were trying to find a nice way to ask me if she was normally like this! At this point I called Gavin. He wasn't prepared for that type of call and was beside himself with worry. His powerful prayers and the many others that joined him helped a lot at that stage.

The nurse found out we were LDS and wanted to get a blessing for her. Turns out the Radiologist was a bishop, the x-ray tech a member as well. So, they were able to give her a blessing and then turn around and give her a CT scan. There are some benefits of being in small-town Idaho! She had to be sedated for the CT scan, so she was finally calm for a while. The nurses wrapped up her IV, in case they would need it later. One sweet lady folded up a dollar bill and stuck it inside her bandage, so when she woke up, she'd have a prize for being so brave! When the results came back, they found no bleeing in the brain, so they diagnosed her with a concussion. Seriously? I had seen family members with concussions and it didn't look anything like that, so I hadn't thought of that. We did finally get in touch with all our family, so they'd come in force to the hospital to help.

They didn't know how she would behave when she woke up from the sedation, so I was worried about that. But, after coming to, she did reconize me and knew her own name. She said her head didn't hurt at all anymore. The only thing bothering her was the IV. Whew! She did throw up, which everyone was expecting, because it's classic concussion behavior. She was up to a quick visit from the family, including Katie, who was so relieved to see her doing better.

We got to stay the night in the CCU and "slept" between hourly neurology checks to see if she still knew who she was. Gavin and my brother-in-law left as soon as they could and drove all night to get there. Come 4 in the morning, when she said she was going to tell the nurse a joke the next time she came in, I finally felt like she was ok. In the morning, the doctor checked her out and said she was good to go! He was suprised, and said he had expected to see something bad in the CT scan. So, thanks to so many prayers from our ward, friends, and family, she is miraculously fine! We spent the rest of the week with our family incident-free!

So, that's our saga for the week. It may have left me needing therapy, and definitely added to my plentiful grey hairs, but I've rarely felt so grateful for every little thing. Just hearing Eleanor speak a coherent sentence is a pleasure!

The Best Calling in the Church

2011-08-07T19:53:00.004-06:00

Five and a half years ago we spent Valentine's Day with the Stake President and Gavin was called to be the bishop of our new ward. Wow, humbling, scary... this is how he looked that first week. Young and scared! He was 29 at the time and had a whole ward to organize from the ground up.

The years went by and we had many great times serving and being served by our ward. Can't forget great moments like back-to-back wins at the Bishop's Pie-Eating Contest! Sorry honey, but this picture is just too good. :)

Eleanor hoped he would be the bishop long enough to interview her for baptism (she wasn't quite 3 when he was called). That was a great father-daughter experience for them.

And now, 10,000 interviews and many baptisms, weddings, and funerals later, he's been released. On to other things. One thing I think I've learned being a "bishop's wife" is that although we can't control much of what happens, we can control how we respond to it. Like Job; not that being a bishop's wife is like Job's experience. I'm just sayin... It's all in the attitude.

Congrats to Bishop Glover - hang on, it's a wild ride! But we have the BEST WARD EVER!!

To Grandma, With Love

2011-08-07T10:17:00.002-06:00

Grandma's been aking for a new picture of the girls, which gives me all the excuse I need to get them in front of my camera. I guess I take so many pictures, I just assume I have plenty of them- but that's not always the case. So, here are today's portraits.

I think Katie's going to have a rough time when Eleanor heads back to school in a couple weeks. They've been pretty inseparable this summer. Playdates, anyone?

Every Summer

2011-08-07T10:08:00.003-06:00

We love to visit the Boulder County Fair every summer. I find it funny that my kids have no idea exactly how big these farm animals really are! I guess when you just see them driving by they seem much smaller. Maybe for that reason, the rabbits are usually their favorites.

We usually catch the horse vaulting show at the fair. This little 4 year old girl was amazing! That horse is huge too, 19 hands. Gavin wondered if they have measuring tapes in hands... Hmmm.

This sweet little cow in her princess crown was so adorable! Not sure what that was about, but every girl looks better in pink and crystals, right?

It was fun this year to have my sister's family come with us. Everything is better with friends around. Eleanor and Lilly helped each other be brave enough to go down the giant slide.

Another great year at the fair! Too bad all the walking around happened to aggravate a stress fracture in my foot that I didn't know I had. Now I'm in a boot for the rest of the summer. Ah well. Guess that's why I had to share these memories - they were hard won!

It's In the Clouds

2011-07-13T21:43:00.003-06:00

This has been the stormiest summer I can remember in Colorado. We've had a string of amazing thunderstorms every evening. The kids and I were outside tonight - because it actually wasn't raining (yet) for once and enjoyed these awesome clouds.

Katie was "sharing" her cupcake with Eleanor. A little bit more like getting a pie in the face - but it's the thought that counts, right? Can't resist taking pictures in this gorgeous light. Glad I've got some goofballs to model for me.

New in Town

2011-07-13T21:28:00.002-06:00

The most exciting thing to happen around here since the last time Granny bread was delivered, is having my sister's family move to Colorado this month. We've never had family living in the same state as us since we got married. Hopefully, that's nothing personal...

Anyway, we're so excited to have cousins around! The girls enjoyed every minute of play time together. Now that they're settled in their own house, everyone's going through withdrawals. I think we'll be able to work the kids up to a whole 5 days apart pretty soon.

Lilly thinks Eleanor is the greatest thing since sliced bread and is doing well tolerating Katie as a tag-a-long.

Evie is just adorable. I must look like her mom, cause she likes me too.

Katie usually prays for every family member she can see, but since Jenny and Christian moved here, they're always included too. That's very high praise indeed. Hurray for family 20 miles instead of 2000 miles away!

A Man for All Seasons

2011-07-11T15:24:00.002-06:00

We got to celebrate Gavin's birthday last week. I'm glad we got an excuse to spoil him and show him just how proud I am of him this year. Happy Birthday Honey!

I know it's probably not your typical birthday present, but this guy was excited about his new food processor! And sorry honey for making you cook your own birthday steak, but who better to do it?

Throughout the weekend, I was struck by just how "versatile" Gavin is! In one day, he presided at a baptism, fixed the breaks on my car, did some dancing with the family, and took in a musical at a Dinner Theater with me. Amazing right?! Sorry ladies, he's taken. :)

The girl's enjoyed "helping" dad fix the car.

Happy Independence Day

2011-07-04T22:37:00.004-06:00

To celebrate Independence Day, I really wanted some freedom from the heat! Well, seriously, there's nothing like celebrating our country's birthday in one of our national parks, right? We're so lucky to have that close by. We headed up to Estes Park for a hike around Lilly Lake, with my niece Lilly (and her family). It was beautiful, cool and relaxing. Katie did wear pants for most of the day.

After heading home, we enjoyed some fireworks with our friends up the street.

Then I had fun messing with different techniques to photograph the city fireworks. Nothing like thinking about it (ok, not that much) all year for 15 minutes of actual "play time." Here are a few I liked.

Thank You For Being a Friend

2011-06-21T22:11:00.003-06:00

That song came out the year I was born and the Golden Girls have been using it ever since! But, speaking of "Golden Girls," I got to spend a little time with some of my favorites recently. These women are just awesome and I don't know how I got so lucky to meet them 10 years ago! It's really probably because Heavenly Father knew I would need them. We have known each other through the birth of almost all of our 16 children, lots of new jobs, houses, hair colors, etc. To quote another song, "I get by with a little help from my friends." These are the girls who've seen me at my worst and help me be my best. Love you ladies!

We decided it was time for a girlfriend picture retake. The original below was five years ago, and is looking a bit dated. I'm sure that has nothing to do with us getting older. Obviously we still like pink... :)

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T19:14:00.003-06:00

I feel so blessed to have two amazing Grandfathers and a great Dad for our kids! Can't think of a more important thing to give you a good start at life!

Hope a new tie and steak dinner let you know just how wonderful we think you are.

Happy Birthday Cupcakes

2011-06-08T16:26:00.002-06:00

Today's project, to help celebrate some friends' birthdays, is these fun cupcakes. Aren't they cute! Inspiration from the always inspiring Annie's Eats. Happy Birthday Shane and Rochelle!

Mt. Rushmore's On The Way

2011-06-07T15:30:00.005-06:00

We just returned from a marvelous weekend trip to Mt. Rushmore. We have seriously been talking about taking this trip for 8 years, but it's never been exactly on the way. Ok, it's not on the way to anything, but there is definitely enough there to make it a destination of it's own right! I'm so glad we finally went and had some great friends for company too.

"On the way" we stopped at Register Cliffs in Wyoming to see the Oregon Trail pioneer's names carved into the rocks. Very cool. Below are the wagon ruts worn into the rock from all those wagons passing through!

We toured Jewel Cave in South Dakota. You have to fit through this box to be able to go on the spelunking tour. Eleanor and I could both do it - course that doesn't mean I would! Here are some of the jewels from the wall of the cave. Beautiful.

Katie trying out her Western skills at Wall Drug. It was a shame to hurry through this spot, but now we've been there we know how to find it again. J/K if you've been within 200 miles of the place you've seen enough road signs to find it easily.

We really enjoyed our time at the Badlands. We were lucky enough to happen by this mountain goat family with several babies. Just out of the shot is the crazy man who was scaling the side of the mountain to get his picture. Thank you telephoto lens.

It would be fun to do some more hiking here!

This is the model the sculptor of Mt. Rushmore made before beginning the work. I never knew it was so unfinished. It was cool to see both together.

It was lovely driving through Custer State Park. We passed several hundred buffalo on the way. The tunnels are a great way to get your first view of Mt. Rushmore.

This is such an inspiring site. Loved it! I'm so glad we finally found our way there.

Like Sister

2011-05-18T16:22:00.001-06:00

Katie loves to sing as much as her sister. She's obviously been listening closely. Here's her version of Eleanor's solo. She kind of trails off at the end, but it's too cute. Singing in the shower at such a young age - that's my girl!

Eleanor's Recital

2011-05-17T10:12:00.003-06:00

Eleanor's been taking group voice lessons with our friend Carli for a few years. She loves singing, so we are very lucky to have a local pro to help her along!

Eleanor is the youngest of this class, so it's pushed her to improve and make some new friends too! I love the songs they got to sing. I'm especially proud she was brave enough to sing a solo! Not something I would like to do myself... Here are a few of my favorites from the night.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T15:39:00.003-06:00

I try to capture a picture on Mother's Day every year of me with my sweeties. I should have done this before church cause my friend's lesson in Relief Society had me balling from beginning to end. Never mind my red nose, etc. My sweet girls worked with dad to bring me breakfast in bed. Katie sat up with me and picked all the strawberries out of my cereal. :) Eleanor whisked away all the dishes. What more could I want?

I've realized recently how much our loved ones on the other side must be involved with our lives. Those Grandmothers are still spreading their good influence, I'm sure. Eleanor was named after a Great Grandmother Eleanor and "happened" to be blessed on said Eleanor's birthday -without our planning. Katie happened to be born on my Granfather's birthday and carries his name as her middle name. Eleanor's baptism this month also fell on another Great Grandmother's birthday! There are probably more of these events than I even realize, but I'm glad to know about these. It makes me feel like we have lots of good family watching over us!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-06T13:29:00.003-06:00

I'm still trying to remember to take a picture of everything I make this year. This is a quick craft I've been looking forward to for awhile. Just a blank canvas, some paint and vinyl from my cutter (thank you sweetie). I'm hoping the message will sink in to my children's heads. :)

We have the best Mothers, Grandmothers and even Great Grandmothers! I hope you all feel loved and appreciated this weekend and all the time! And thank you for letting us call whenever we need your wisdom.

White Dress pictures

2011-05-05T14:57:00.002-06:00

We took some quick pictures for Eleanor's baptism invitation, but I wanted to go outside when the weather cooperated. So, here's her birthday/baptism pictures. Her Grandma made this beautiful dress for her. She also made her blessing dress. So, maybe some day she'll have a 3rd white dress to make. We won't rush that.

Coming Soon..

2011-05-02T16:00:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited about the new arrivals we're expecting in our backyard soon!

Great to Be Eight

2011-05-02T14:21:00.004-06:00

Eleanor got to be baptized this weekend into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She's been looking forward to this for so long, but I think it was even better than she thought it could be. We were so fortunate to have all her Grandparents here and even her Great Grandma Payne and lucky Uncle Matthew. Lucky because he got to speak at the baptism - and did a great job. She'll have lots of wonderful memories of this experience, especially having her dad not only baptize her, but give her the baptismal interview as well. Believe me, we've been paying attention to this date for the last five years!

Katie soaked up plenty of attention this weekend too. She learned several new games on Grandma's Iphone.

The menfolk went golfing Friday and let us ladies alone to watch the Royal Wedding. We pulled out some fancy hats and had a great time! It definitely made me hungry for another trip to London.

Looks like those dimples might come from my side of the family after all! These pictures are for Matt to take and use to his advantage - I mean handsome, single guy showing his softer side with adorable nieces has got to be worth something, right!? :)

Happy Easter

2011-04-23T19:54:00.002-06:00

Happy Easter! We hope to take the time to help our kids understand the true meaning of this holiday. When they do, it should be one of the most joyful days of the year! We hope it is for you.

I Looked Out the Window

2011-04-14T15:16:00.002-06:00

I love our tree in the front that just popped out in blossoms this week. So glad I took these pictures a couple days ago - it was snowing this morning... BTW, those wings are blurry with a 1/1000th of a second exposure! That's fast flying!

Official Birthday Pictures

2011-04-13T15:23:00.004-06:00

I've been looking forward to taking the official "2 year old" pictures for Katie. She was all over that photo shoot. Now, if I can learn to wrangle her crazy hair! Man she is a cutie these days. She's always the first one to come running when someone needs a lovin'. Course, being a two-year-old, she is the reason someone needs a lovin' most of the time. :)

Happy day, happy girl

2011-04-02T20:59:00.003-06:00

I love how much my girls look forward to their birthdays. So cute and innocent of them. Eleanor was definitely so excited to have the big 8 party. I can't believe we're at this point already. Wow. She's growing up to be such a fun, smart and darling girl.

Eleanor and Katie enjoying her new sleeping bag and doll together.

Eleanor wanted to do a Hello Kitty theme for her party this year. I have to recommend that - so many easy ideas to craft! Here is the fun cake - which had a perfectly smooth top until we discovered that the cake dome took a chunk right out of the middle - just a wee bit too tall.

We made these shirts with freezer paper stencils ahead of time and then let the girls decorate their bow with puffy paint.

The Shrinkie-Dink necklaces were really fun and easy too.
Hey - it's not every day you get your birthday candles lit with a blow torch. She must be getting old if she has enough candles to warrant this treatment. :)

Love you Eleanor! So excited that you're 8 and all that means for you coming up...

Happy St. Patty's Day

2011-03-17T17:33:00.003-06:00

My little leprechauns looked so cute today, I just had to take their picture. Look at these dolls! I don't think anyone can be quite as lucky as I am. But, I hope your day was a good one too!

The wall in the background is one of my recent projects too. If you'd like to see it better, you'll have to come stay in our guest room. Any takers?

Happy Birthday Baby

2011-03-12T22:05:00.004-07:00

We got to celebrate our little Katie's birthday today. Can't believe she's 2 already - but, on the other hand, I can hardly remember what it was like without her in our life. We went in her bedroom this morning and she was jumping up and down saying, "It's my birthday!"

How could you not give this cutie M&M's before breakfast? Thank you, sweet home teacher, for those.

She was a little excited about the ladybug pillow pet.

Just a little excited.

I saw this adorable cake idea on One Charming Party, so we had a little circus theme to the day. Hot dogs and popcorn for dinner. What more could a two-year-old want?

Actually, all she wanted was the sucker. She didn't even touch her cake. But, she was happy.

Life is always exciting with a two-year-old. Katie is very sweet and smart! She knows all her colors, has a huge vocabulary, can recognize a long list of songs from two or three notes, is starting to love reading books, and counts 17..18..19..eleventeen. Yesterday, she was very put out to discover that the strawberries in the picture were not actually in the cereal box. Love the discoveries you make all over again with your children.

Coming to a Backyard Near You

2011-03-09T14:56:00.001-07:00

I was so excited to see this cute pussywillow on the tree outside my window. Just one little sign that Spring is coming!

A Little Something I Made

2011-03-03T13:14:00.002-07:00

One of my resolutions for this year is to take a picture of everything I make. Over the years I've made so many different things, especially gifts, that pass through my hands so quickly I've forgotten all about them. I'd like to have more of a catalog of ideas I tried and liked. So, I won't be posting them all, but here's a little sample.

I've been eyeing this Cosmo Cricket Early Bird fabric for a long time, so finally I decided to get a yard and see what I could do with it. It became hotpads, a quilted table runner, and a kitchen towel holder. It's such happy fabric. Who knew you didn't have to put up with ugly hot pads forever!

The table runner is reversible for a totally different look.

Learning Real Quick

2011-02-25T17:34:00.003-07:00

I guess she's heard the phrase enough, so Katie started saying, "Go to potty real quick." Then she goes to find the step stool and pulls down her pants to sit on it for awhile. There is still a diaper and usually a onsie present, but hey - it's a little step forward.

Love this! Here she is waddling off to the "potty."

I figured it might be time to bring in the real thing, so I got our little potty out. She's loving it!

I never considered potty-training before 2, but maybe I should capitalize on her interest at the moment. What do you think?

Oh, and forgive the camera phone pictures. I hate camera phone pictures, but it is convenient.

Finally, I have Proof

2011-02-21T20:47:00.002-07:00

A doctor's kids have broken arms, dentists' kids have cavities, and a photographer has no pictures of themselves! True, right? I tried to correct the situtation by finally finding a photographer to take our family pictures last fall. That's right - in September. And I just got these last week. Alas, I couldn't really recommend her, but I'm thrilled to finally have pictures of my family with me in them. Proof that I'm here too! Proof that I hold and love my kids (and my husband) too!

I was lucky that she gave me all the originals so I could do the editing myself. Here is my absolute favorite.

Still need to do some correcting on this one. But, hey - it's a happy family picture with everyone smiling!

So, yes, I totally understand what you go through to come get your family pictures taken. I know how thrilled your husband is to be here instead of - well anything else he could think of. But, I hope you find it all worth it to get some fabulous and memorable pictures of your family together. Proof that this moment existed - with you in it!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T13:35:00.004-07:00

We're so blessed to have great friends and family! We love you and hope you enjoy this Happy Valentine's Day!

We skipped the store-bought characters-we-don't-care-about Valentines for these. Fun, huh?

I made this for Gavin . The light bulb bit was a little trickier than I thought it would be, but once you get past the fear of shattered glass - it's no biggie!

I sure love my Valentine. He's already spoiled all the girls in the house today. What a sweetie.

Indoors is Good

2011-01-31T16:33:00.003-07:00

We snuck in a little impromptu photo shoot the other day while the girls were playing in the guest room. I'm glad we did - I love these casual and fun pictures. I'm definitely an outdoor photographer at heart - but sometimes, indoors is good too!

Only 10

2011-01-28T15:14:00.004-07:00

Before January is over, I have to account for my other resolution from 2010, which was to buy only 10 items of clothing. I found this was quite a polarizing idea when talking with other people. Either you buy way more than that in a typical year or you haven't shopped for yourself since you had kids to drag into the dressing room with you!

Well, I find that I'm such a good bargain shopper - when it comes to clothes - that I aquire more than I need because it's a good deal. Some of these deals are not things I dearly love or wear often. So, to curb that habit (and because we watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, which scared me to pieces) I decided to try this and see if I could do it.

The cruise we took in June and family pictures took up several of my items - but it proves it can be done! Also, Gavin sweetly bought me a pair of pants for our anniversary, which I didn't have to count. Otherwise, honestly, this is all I bought for myself last year.

Red sweater for family pictures. I love it and wear it all the time.

Long wool sweater, love this for layering.

Something sparkly for the holidays.

Got to have a wide brown belt, right? I didn't count scarves or jewelry, but I did count shoes - which I did not buy all year.

Got sucked in when shopping in the fall. But, classic colors and 3/4 sleeves are good year round.

Love, love this dress. I had watched in online for awhile and then, just before my birthday the boutique was closing it's doors - so I snatched it on clearance! Lucky birthday present for me.

Nice button-up white shirt is a necessity - like the texture of this one.

Long black dress for the cruise. Actually super comfortable and still formal-looking.

Swimsuit top - for the cruise. I could be happy never buying (or wearing) a swimming suit.

Red jacket for the cruise. And my favorite color.

There it is. Not sure what goal to undertake in this area this year. I'm thinking of the 1 in- 1 out rule. Ideas?

Refashion Goal

2011-01-12T10:54:00.004-07:00

For 2010 I set a goal to do 10 refashions. That went along with my other goal to only buy 10 items of clothing - more on that later.

Here are 10 refashions for 2010...

This beauty came from a sheet - also became a dress for Eleanor and Katie.

I sent Gavin to the fabric store to buy me some black tulle. It cost him $0.19, which he had to charge on the credit card. We never carry cash.

I love these flowers - made from fabric from another old t-shirt.

I think this one is my favorite of the year. I bought this men's XXXL shirt for $2 from JCPenney, so there was lots of fabric to work with.

This was a two-fer. Bought this Sara Jessica Parker jumper from the DI couple years ago just because I liked the fabric. I cut it apart and made the skirt, then cut out some flowers from the extra fabric to use as appliques on the shirt. The lace edge also came from the jumper.

Fun reverse-applique scarf from two of Gavin's old shirts.

This was a refashion squared. I previously tried to make this into the flower-petal embellished shirt, but the fabric is so soft it curled all up in the wash. So, I took off all the flower petals and used some strips of fabric to embelish with this curlique design - taking advantage of the fact that I knew it would curl up. Like it much better.

There you have it. I don't think I have any plain t-shirts left in my closet, but it was a fun year!

Baby It's Cold Outside

2011-01-11T20:49:00.002-07:00

That never stops me from going outside with my camera. I love catching frost on everything.

Too bad my electric blanket just died. I guess I'll turn on the fireplace and drink hot chocolate!

Bugs

2011-01-05T15:34:00.002-07:00

Santa was very sweet to get us a family membership to the Butterfly Pavilion this year. We took the chance to go before Eleanor headed back to school. The girls had a great time!

Ok, I had a great time too. A year full of photographing butterflies sounds like fun to me!

Eleanor had two butterflies land on her. Maybe it was her lucky butterfly shirt.

I tried not to look too closely at the Tarantula exhibit. Eww, creepy. These two didn't mind.

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-01-04T16:23:00.004-07:00

We enjoyed a very peaceful Christmas. It was fun to see Eleanor and Katie so excited! My favorite line of the season was Eleanor saying, "Some kids don't believe in Santa Claus. Then what's that red light in the sky, reindeer pulling an empty sleigh?!"

Eleanor designed this Ernie doll for Katie all by herself. She drew the pattern and cut out all the pieces. It turned out adorable and Katie loves it!

Gavin's not too old to need a toy for Christmas.

Here I am being pleasantly surprised by the present Katie bought me while we were out shopping together. :)

And here is Katie enjoying all her Christmas presents at the same time! I think her own bag of goldfish might have been her favorite gift!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

2011-01-04T16:14:00.002-07:00

When it looked like a White Christmas at home was just a dream, we had to take action and go find snow elsewhere. So, we bundled up on Christmas Eve and headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park to go sledding with some friends. We didn't see much snow until about 10,000ft!

Seeing this Winter Wonderland was well worth the drive. This is Katie's favorite type of sledding, by the way.

Eleanor enjoying some air time! She played for hours until she couldn't feel her feet any more.

It was a beautiful day! After a few freezing hours we were ready to get home to a warm dinner and cozy Christmas eve.

All I Want

2010-12-21T20:22:00.003-07:00

After having wiggly teeth for months now, front tooth #1 popped out last week and #2 popped out tonight! Just in time to really enjoy singing "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth."

Kudos to Eleanor for being so brave. She pulled them both out herself. She thinks she's the luckiest girl ever to have the Tooth Fairy and Santa visit in the same week.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-20T21:34:00.002-07:00

For those of you who didn't get our Christmas card in the mail, you can enjoy it online!

Here's the text on the card, if you can't see it well enough. It works best read outloud, in character!

Hello Friends. How are you? Fabulous.
Look at your family. Now back at us.
Now back at your family.
Now back to us. Sadly, you're not with us.
But if you call or send us an email you could be!

What's in your hand? Look back at us. We have it.
It's a picture of these people you love.
Look again. The picture is now a card for that season you love.

Anything is possible when you're friends with the Paynes!

We're on a card... Yah!

We wish you all the merriest of Christmases! May the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, fill you with joy and gratitude that can last throughout the year.

We're Celebrating

2010-11-12T14:22:00.003-07:00

It's our Solomon's 5th Birthday today. Visit his blog to see how we like to celebrate his birthday every year.

Exercizing

2010-11-09T20:38:00.002-07:00

During Family Home Evening last night, Katie started entertaining herself by holding on to the ottoman and lifting her legs into the air. She started calling it "exercising."

Hilarious! I don't know how she did it, but she must have repeated it 15 or 20 times. Sorry Dad, I know you were in the middle of a good lesson.

Worn out after all that strength training!

Family Time

2010-11-09T19:54:00.004-07:00

We had the special treat of having family with us for all of October. Our brother and sister-in-law and their cute kids stayed with us while Ryan was doing a podiatry internship in the area.

We tried to find fun adventures to go on every weekend. Here we are enjoying Boulder and NCAR.

We took in two pumpkin patches to enjoy our gorgeous fall weather. We also made every pumpkin dessert we could think of in a month! I am missing that - the scale is not. :)

Sara and I bravely took 4 kids under 4 to the Zoo and the Nature and Science Museum. No big deal. As my friend says, "We're professionals, right?"

The cousins enjoyed a variety of sculpture on one of our Saturday adventures.

Sara so kindly watched my kids while I took on a crazy month of photo shoots. We did a little photo shoot of their own too. This was one of my favorites. Their kids are so sweet to each other. You give them one treat and they instantly offer to share with each other!

My kids completely loved having cousins downstairs to play with every day. Katie was so in love with little Davis (ok, young Davis - since he's almost as big as her). I'd catch her giving him hugs and kisses, which she doesn't do for anyone else! The girls are both in withdrawals now - not a day goes by without Katie asking for each of them. I'm so glad they got a chance to enjoy each other and this special time together. We secretly have our fingers crossed that Ryan does his residency in Colorado.

If You Go Out in the Woods Today...

2010-10-31T20:35:00.002-06:00

...Be sure of a big surprise.

For Halloween this year we were Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Many thanks to my friend who made the bear heads for their family years ago and let us borrow them! I just made Eleanor's dress, and some ribbon curls, which I'm sorry don't show up in the picture so well. I tried to get Eleanor to carry a bowl of porridge, but was overruled. Now I need to get Katie to say Baby Bear for the camera, because it is just adorable. We couldn't have done this without you, Baby Bear!

Bunch of Paynes

2010-10-14T15:04:00.003-06:00

We had a great time getting together with the Payne's this fall. It was a fantastic location in the forest, by a lake, with lots of nice hikes close by. We always fit in some picture time when we're all together.

Uncle Ri-Ri entertaining the kids. We're lucky enough to have him at our house now entertaining my kids!

Can't say enough how much I love the chance to get up at sunrise to take pictures of this gorgeous scenery! Ok, especially when sunrise is at 7:00am. :)

I nearly lost all these pictures when my full camera card fell out of my back pocket onto this boardwalk - which is over the lake. All I could find was the empty case, so I backtracked a full mile around the lake looking for my 1" square card. I went back to the spot where I found the case and the card was standing up in the crack between these boards - luckily in a spot where there was wood underneath and not just water! And luckily with just enough space for me to angle it out. Whew! Talk about a miracle.

We went on a hike with the whole family - 19 members, including lots of babies!

Thank you Mama and Papa Payne - we had a great time!

Smoothie

2010-09-15T14:28:00.002-06:00

The perfect thing to go with dinner on a summer night, Smoothies! Katie knows what this word means and she repeats it over and over until she gets one!

Nice smoothie mustache Kate.

I should have a picture of Eleanor enjoying her smoothie too. She just wasn't so enthusiastic that she ended up wearing hers - she prefers a straw.

Dreamy Summer

2010-09-04T15:42:00.002-06:00

The evening light is just glorious outside these days. I snatched Eleanor from the dinner table last night to capture this sight. This is just the kind of picture I'd like to see when I first wake up in the morning. It has that hazy soft-focus look like you're just coming out of a dream.

Summer Sessions

2010-08-20T14:18:00.003-06:00

I realized I haven't posted any of my fun summer sessions yet. Getting outside with a cute family on a cool summer evening is truly very fun. Here are some of my favorite moments...

This picture totally represents my goal as a photographer. I love to capture happy moments without forced poses and forced expressions. But, kids being adorable all by themselves!

Yum.. love the colors here and her styling of the family was great!

I could look at this picture forever! Seriously, doesn't it make you want to be that close to dipping your toes into a stream. Maybe it's too hot in my office right now...

Time to Learn

2010-08-18T15:38:00.003-06:00

Poof! - just like that summer is over and Eleanor is back to school! She's been waiting about 4 years to be able to ride the bus, so she insisted on riding it her very first day. She's really excited to be in a 2nd-3rd split class this year.

And here is what Katie's been learning lately.

And Here We Have Idaho

2010-07-30T11:17:00.004-06:00

We took a quick trip to Idaho this month to celebrate my Grandma's 80th Birthday. Best of all, she though that just my dad and my aunt were coming to help her with some things, so all the rest of us were a surprise! We had a great time together with everyone.

This is the first time my camera has been on the roof to take a picture. Credit to Thomas for getting it up and down!

Katie loved playing "ball" with Grandpa.

Funny moment that captures my Grandma's personality ... We were hanging out in the kitchen when she came up with a handful of irridescent multicolored kitchen sponges. She said, "Here, pick a sponge!" "I thought these were so pretty and I've got loads of them, so pick your favorite color." Maybe it's just me, but I had to stiffle some giggles on that one. Thanks for the sponge Grandma. I will think of you whenever I use it.

On our way home, we decided to take in a bit of Yellowstone, since the last time we went Eleanor was 3 months old.

It was pouring rain about a half hour before this. Glad we waited!

Some amazing colors and scenery. We did see a buffalo, some elk, deer, birds, antelope, etc.

The sunset was hitting these mountians just as we were on our way out the east entrance. It was a really beautiful drive - at least that part of it...

Our Toddler

2010-07-28T10:46:00.002-06:00

Katie has been so close to walking for a while now. When we came back from our trip to Idaho I think she was so glad to be out of the car that she started taking her first steps that night! Within a week she was all over the place.

Here's one little video of her, which are very hard to capture since she keeps trying to come grab my phone. Enjoy!

Summer Dessert

2010-07-27T12:24:00.002-06:00

Mmm, here is what's for dessert tonight! Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls from my favorite recipe blog, Annie's Eats. Hope you're coming home early love!

What a deal!

2010-07-23T14:15:00.001-06:00

There are far more momentous things I should be catching up on, but
this was too great to pass up.

We stopped by JCPenney this week to find some clothes for Gavin. They
had an insane amount of things marked $2.97!! Including khakis and
regularly $60 jeans!

By the end of this shopping trip I'd saved about 82% on everything I
bought. Great day, great tithing blessings!

North to Alaska

2010-06-17T14:35:00.004-06:00

We just returned from a fabulous Alaskan cruise to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. Although it was a bit crazy to leave a half-unpacked house for Grandma and Grandpa, it couldn't have come at a better time. We loved having so much time together after a crazy spring.

Here is a small sample of the 1000 pictures I took on our trip! Enjoy!

We're hoping to get a prints section up on my photography website soon. I think several from the trip will make it there. We're trying to decide how many big canvases we can fit on our walls. Such a beautiful place is definitely like a playground for me. And Gavin is the best photog pit crew out there. You should see how fast that man can change a lens! You're awesome and incredibly patient honey!

Huge thanks to my parents for taking care of the kids for us! They did a great job and even had Katie saying "Grandpa" and "Grandma" by the time we got back. Thank you, thank you!

Birthday Pictures

2010-05-18T20:59:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile since we've gone in for the free Kiddie Kandids birthday picture. Instead we've got a fun new tradition to have a photo shoot with Mom for your birthday. Ok, well... at least I think it's fun.
We put Eleanor's off a bit and then I got greedy and wanted to wait for things to green up a bit. Or pink up a bit as it turned out!

This photo shoot came together in about 10 minutes. "Look at that gorgeous tree!" "Oh good, you brushed your hair." "Hey, you're wearing your cute shirt, lets go take a picture!"
The sun is behind her, but the light reflecting off the house was just perfect for filling in the shadows.

She really is 7 now. It's a fun age this cross between growing up and still being a kid. I wish we could freeze this moment for a while. Thanks for holding still at least long enough for a picture!

Magnificent Mothers

2010-05-08T15:30:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking about my mothers a lot lately. They are always contributing to the quality of our life and family, always willing to give of their experience and talents to help us. I realized that my relationships with my mother and my mother-in-law have changed a lot over the last ten years. Prior to that I was definitely in that stage, similar to a two-year-old, when I wanted to prove I could do it myself! Over the last ten years, we've come to realize how amazing these women are, how much knowledge they have, how much we want to spend time with them and have them to be a part of our lives.

Thank you for your tremendous examples and for your patience with our "I can do it myself" stage! Now, when my daughters become teenagers and I'm hopelessly uncool, I'll try to remember to look forward to their thirties, when suddenly I'll be all that again.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you both.

Lasting Beauty

2010-05-05T13:59:00.003-06:00

I wish the beauty of these lilacs would last forever. I took this picture today in a desire to create something lasting. Love the advice to do something every day that will not be undone immediately. With a little one who's just learned how to unpack the pantry and Tupperware cabinets, I really just needed to take a break from picking up.

I love lilacs. Can't imagine a yard without them. I love how the smell makes me remember playing under a big bush we had in our yard when I was about 5 and painting rocks. Thanks Mom for teaching me to appreciate these fleeting flowers by loving them so much yourself!

Sneak Peak

2010-05-04T16:54:00.003-06:00

We're looking forward to closing on our new home - hopefully by the end of next week. Here's a sneak peak inside.

I'm totally looking forward to that office with plenty of room for all my hobbies!

It's Huge!

2010-05-04T13:54:00.002-06:00

We're starting to get things together for our new house. We just got a fridge delivered, since the previous owners took theirs. It's always been a dream of mine to have ice and water in the door. I know, that feature is probably as old as I am, but still I am so excited about it! So, when the salesman tried to convince us that the sale price was only for the version without ice and water in the door - I let him have it! Well... I did nicely pointed out that the ad did say ice and water included. And I was right! Ha!

Here she is... isn't she beautiful.

We had some cute mini bottles of ketchup and mayo, so we tried them out in our huge fridge. :) And yes, there is Grey Poupon in there too, so we're ready for any snooty Englishman that drives by.

Now honey, haven't we told you not to drink right out of the pitcher!

Eleanor's Birthday

2010-04-19T11:25:00.003-06:00

I'm not usually this behind, but I can't skip blogging about Eleanor's 7th birthday! After the 50th time she told me the day before that she was so excited for her birthday, she finally looked at me and said, "Do you get this excited for your birthday?" Um, no. Except this year, I said would be super fun because the dates line up really cool for my birthday. We figured out that the dates will line up almost like that for Eleanor's 39th birthday. So, now she can't wait for her 39th birthday. Never heard anyone say that before!

We had a small family celebration since the Grandparents got snowed out. :( She must be growing up, because she asked for Lettuce Wraps for dinner! And cheesecake for dessert.

She got some fun big chapter books - Tale of Desperaux and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.

We decided to take her to Mary Poppins for her birthday. It was a great Mommy Daughter date. The music and dancing were so fun. She really enjoyed seeing Mary Poppins come floating through the ceiling. We even took my antique opera glasses to get a better view from our nosebleed seats. I think she enjoyed her first broadway experience.

Happy 7 Eleanor! You're growing up so fast.

Sign is Up

2010-04-14T11:10:00.002-06:00

I was teasing our friends that every time my mother-in-law comes to visit we think about moving. Somehow, this time the idea stuck and we literally found a house and in the course of 24 hours had a signed contract to buy it! We are not really spontaneous people; believe me there were still lots of spreadsheets involved in the discussion. However, there was also a lot of divine guidance we couldn't deny, including a major blizzard - it's a great story. We'll be staying close by (less than 2 miles from our current home) so there won't be much upheaval of that sort.

Now we've been preparing our home to sell. That is such a bitter-sweet experience, especially since this is by far the longest I've lived in one place. A lot of our blood, sweat and more sweat have gone into making our first home just perfect! But, today the sign went up in the yard and if you know someone who would be perfect for our home, we'd be much obliged if you'd sent them our way! They can see more about it here!

It's a perfect spot for a family with a playset, raised garden beds, access to the paved trail to the lake right through out backyard, sweetest neighbors ever, quiet cul-de-sac, etc. What do you think...should I go into real estate?

Thanks for helping us spread the word! If you'd like to donate to our cause - we'll take any empty boxes you'd like to send our way. :)

Easter Eggs

2010-04-01T16:05:00.002-06:00

Easter is often really close to Eleanor's birthday. With all the hubub, we don't usually get around to dying Easter eggs. Eleanor and I took some time to do that this morning. She had fun mixing the colors herself. I just enjoyed looking at the lovely rainbow colors.

When she noticed we only had 3 undyed eggs left, she said, "Only 3 eggs left, we better make some good choices!" Wow, the pressure!

Happy Easter!

Snow Day

2010-03-24T10:56:00.003-06:00

We got plastered with snow yesterday. Literally - doesn't it look like our fence got hit with a hopper instead of a snowstorm.

I'm always a sucker for snow pictures, snow days, hot chocolate, hmmm. Love it. I just find it strange that that always happens in March here in Colorado.

Odyssey of the Mind

2010-03-15T14:05:00.002-06:00

Eleanor joined an Odyssey of the Mind team through school this year. They've worked all year on a performance with the theme "Surprise Party." The idea is to get unique, kid-driven ideas. They come up with the concept, script, costumes and everything themselves.

So, here is the video of their cute performance. In case you can't follow it, all the animals make unusual sounds and are going to a suprise party for the dog who just learned to quack that morning. You don't have to watch the end, but the judges come out and talk to the kids to find out how much they really did themselves. Eleanor has loved participating and is looking forward to next year.

Birthday Cake

2010-03-15T13:53:00.003-06:00

Here it is, the Birthday Cake teardown! Wow, Katie had fun with this.

Here is the lovely little cake we started with. You should try making these chocolate butterflies from the Hello Cupcake book - they are really easy and cute.

So, here are the first moments with the cake. She obviously didn't appreciate the chocolate butterflies so much.

Here is what happened after that first piece made it into her mouth.

And here she is with her Happy-I-Can't-Believe-my-Parents-are-Letting-me-do-This look! We ended the day with Bath #2, of course. That was probably her favorite part.

Happy Birthday Baby

2010-03-13T17:49:00.003-07:00

We had so much fun celebrating Katie's birthday! I think the highlights for her were a bubble bath, swinging in her new baby swing, trying to eat all the rocks under the swingset, playing with balloons, and digging into the cake.

Love the textures here. Especially with the squishy baby tummy and toes!
We'll let these cute clean pictures stand on their own for a day or so before we bring out the birthday cake teardown!

Poofy Preview

2010-03-10T15:15:00.003-07:00

You know your skirt is poofy when...

It stands up by itself!

I made this pettiskirt for Katie's birthday outfit. Had to share, cause I just can't stand how cute and poofy it is. I may just be crazy enough to make one more for Eleanor and then I'll retire from poofy skirt making and let people sell them for $70 and consider it a deal!

Can't wait for the 1 year old photo shoot - coming soon!

Fun Project

2010-03-10T11:23:00.002-07:00

I made this fun laptop cozy for my brother's birthday. I might be in trouble posting this now, since I have 5 siblings, including one with a birthday this weekend. So David, take a raincheck? I don't think this would fit your guitar. :)

It was a fun little sewing project. You can find directions here: Sketch laptop.

Let it Snow

2010-02-24T11:45:00.003-07:00

I love the idea of family pictures in the snow. Elizabeth did too, so we kept our fingers crossed and finally got the right weather last weekend. The kids were so great! Hopefully, they still have all their fingers and toes too. :)

Won't it be fun to look at these snowy pictures while snuggled up on your cozy couch drinking hot chocolate!

Miss Manners

2010-02-18T14:31:00.003-07:00

For months we've been trying to teach Katie to say or sign "More please" instead of squeeling for more food. It's finally paying off.

And please welcome us to the 21st century. This is my first video post thanks to the awesome gadget my sweetie just got me. We can now inundate you with videos as well as pictures! Watch out world.

Thank you for the flowers, Rush Limbaugh

2010-02-18T10:54:00.002-07:00

My dear husband is very good about getting flowers. In the early years of our marriage, we collected a new vase for each anniversary. We've fallen a few years behind on that, but he still brings me flowers from time to time. For Valentine's Day he decided to try out Pro Flowers, who advertises on Rush Limbaugh. This beautiful bouquet came in the mail on Saturday. All two dozen roses have opened beautifully. It gave me an excuse to take a few pictures. But really, what isn't an excuse to take pictures. :)

Love this with the oval mirror on my Grandma's antique dresser.

Thanks honey, I love the flowers.

T-Shirt Model

2010-02-15T15:55:00.004-07:00

Katie was good enough to model my latest refashioning project. Found this cute idea from another blog and wanted to try it. Then, by serendipity, I found these t-shirts on a huge discount at Target. Perfect recipe for a project, no?

This is just as easy as a little fabric paint and a variety of pen caps, erasers, stamps, etc. Eleanor wants one too, so we'll definitely be trying this again.

Lost in Translation

2010-02-12T10:38:00.002-07:00

Earlier this week, one of Eleanor's little boy friends gave her a package of imported candy. Most of the text was Japanese, except for this translation, "Cream filled romantic love shapes." Ha! Love it. That's a new phrase in our family vocabulary now.

Hope you have a fabulous Valentine's Day filled with romantic love shapes!

Once there was a Snowman

2010-02-10T14:38:00.003-07:00

Despite popular opinion, Colorado is not a very snowy place. We haven't even had enough to build a decent snowman in months. So, with the mere 2 inches we got this week, Eleanor was determined to build a snowman. When the snow just wouldn't stick together, we came up with this solution. Call it Flat Stanley the Snowman.

And, being Colorado, where the weather changes on a dime, this is what Flat Stanley the Snowman looked like the next day. Sorry kid, but it's a good thing we sent your old snowpants to your cousin in Virginia!

Princess Painting

2010-02-08T12:41:00.002-07:00

We introduced Eleanor to Ever After the other weekend. I think she enjoyed the "real" story of Cinderella. I love this picture Da Vinci paints of the princess, so I decided to work up one of my favorite princess pictures of Eleanor "Da Vinci style."

I have no painting skills, so this is a la Photoshop, of course.

Real Crystal

2010-02-05T12:03:00.003-07:00

Last week Eleanor wanted to wear her flower girl dress to church. She came out with pink plastic beads to "accessorize." Then I remebered a sweet crystal necklace I had as a young girl. What a fun mom moment to pull that out and see her face light up! I think she was a little distracted at church because she was sure everyone was looking at her "real crystal" necklace.

Nothing better than a twirly dress!

Designated Snowshoer

2010-02-04T13:08:00.002-07:00

Gavin's off on a business trip. Well, sort of. His new management team is doing an overnight snowshoeing retreat by Leadville. They get to backback everything (food, etc.) about a mile in to this cute litte cabin with no running water or electricity. Cook dinner and breakfast somehow, do those other squishy activities people do on work "retreats" and snowshoe out tomorrow. Sounds like fun! I hope someone gets a picture of him in action because I have seriously never seen him wear as many layers as he prepared for this trip. Not in 10 years of marriage. Shorts and Crocs weren't going to cut it, I suppose.

After he left, Eleanor and I had a funny conversation. She saw me writing a shopping list and said, "Are you writing Dad a poem?"

Umm, no - should I?

Then, she saw his shampoo in the shower and was really worried that he forgot it. I explained to her that he wouldn't really need it because of the lack of amenities where he was headed. She said, "Why would Daddy's boss pick a cabin like that?!"

I defended her with the teambuilding, etc, etc. reasons. But she said, "They should have picked a nicer cabin than that."

We'll post a report soon. Oh, yea... and this picture is us on our next family vacation!

Fall Sessions

2010-02-02T14:04:00.002-07:00

Working on a new website design has me going through some past sessions. I never got around to blogging some of my favorites from last fall. Here's the first set for you.

Loved this little moment.

Rachel did such a great job styling her family - these make me want to go buy cozy sweaters for all of us.

Bathing Beauty

2010-01-29T12:07:00.002-07:00

I finally found the box of "Misc. Newborn" items in the basement last weekend. Wouldn't you know it? We've missed our chance to use most of it, but I had to squeeze her in this cute robe at least once. It looks so cute hanging from the bathroom door.

Two of Ten

2010-01-25T10:36:00.003-07:00

I finished my second refashioning project this weekend. This scarf started as two of Gavin's t-shirts that never get worn. Thanks honey. I followed this tutorial with just a few changes to simplify. Next time I would machine sew the two layers together since hand sewing takes me forever. I do like the look of the embroidery around the cutouts, so that's worth the time. Fun, free, and cozy. Enjoy!

Beef Bourguignon

2010-01-25T10:04:00.003-07:00

We had some time at home Saturday, so it was the perfect opportunity for Gavin to try Beef Bourguignon. He's been wanting to try it after seeing Julie and Julia. Who am I to stop him?

He's a firm believer in proper mis en place.

You know you're a teetotaling family when... you can't find a corkscrew anywhere. :) We've found alcohol-free wines at the grocery store that add, as far as we can tell, the right flavor without worrying about cooking out all the alcohol, feeding it to the kids, etc.

And, whalah, just a short 5 hours later we're enjoying Julia's Beef Bourguignon. It was so delicious. However, with 3 hours of active cooking time and two more in the oven, I doubt we'll be having this often.

Katie was loving it! I would have a picture of Eleanor enjoying it, but she didn't.

After we put the kids to bed, we dipped tuxedo strawberries for our date. So, the day was basically all about food. Next weekend we'll have to go snowshoeing or something.

One of Ten

2010-01-21T10:21:00.003-07:00

2010 is going to be a year of 10's for us. Our tenth anniversary is coming up. We'll have lived in Colorado for ten years. My birthday this year will be 10/10/10 - how cool is that?!

So, to go along with our year of 10's we've made several resolutions. First, we'd like to visit 10 states this year. Not new ones, necessarily. We've got 3 down already. The rest will be a little more out of our norm.

One of my resolutions for this year is to try 10 refashioning projects. I dabbled a little bit with it last year and found it really fun, rewarding, and cheap! This will also help me in my resolution to buy only 10 items of clothing for myself this year. Whew, now I've said it... you'll have to hold me to it.

So, here is my first refashioning project for the year. It was easy-peasy. I've been sitting on the supplies for a year and when I finally sat down to it, it took all of 3 minutes. Sorry no before picture, but I started with a fun pair of knee high women's socks. Cut them off right above the ankle. Cut the rectangle section between the heel and toes. Fold it over and serge or zig-zag it to make the band at the bottom of the "sleeve."

Now we have these fun arm warmers that extend the summer wardrobe into the winter. This is the same method to make Baby Legs which are all the rage. How often can you sew something your baby and six year old can both wear? Now that's efficient.

I'll definitely be making more of these in the future. Fun and quick. Go ahead and try it!

Flowers and Fairies

2010-01-19T09:45:00.003-07:00

I've been patiently waiting for Katie to fit into this sweet hat she was given. Finally, we had our photo shoot with it yesterday. Love it.

We also had a visit from the Tooth Fairy last night. Eleanor lost her 2nd tooth. She was so excited to find a note and a picture from the Tooth Fairy this morning telling her congratulations. She didn't even hear her come! What with the pom-poms and other booby-traps on the floor, that is quite the amazing fairy. :)

Lil Aggie

2010-01-14T16:09:00.003-07:00

We were so glad we made it up to Logan during our recent trip to Utah. It's actually been a few years. We had a great time vising friends, old (I mean past) roommates, mission presidents, and my brother and his wife.

But what makes our heart skip a beat is the food. Shameful, I know. But, I haven't had real Aggie Ice Cream in 3 years and I couldn't stop oohing and ahhing over that yumminess. Pralines and Cream - so good! Had to scoop up this little Aggie onesie for Katie while we were there.

Now, more about the food. I know, I should stop, but there is no where else in the world where we've been able to find Tiny Spicy Chicken. This fabulous Chinese food that added so much to our college experience. Good thing I lived on the 4th floor for awhile - or it would have added more! After all these years it is still just as good.

So glad we got to visit everyone and show Eleanor the cute little park where we had our first date. Hopefully it won't be long before we go again.

Fair and Accurate Reporting

2010-01-14T16:03:00.002-07:00

In the interest of being fair and accurate (after all I do have a degree in Journalism), we don't just get occasional snakes in our backyard. We have a plethora of bunnies that live here year-round. Oh yes, I would say we have a plethora of bunnies.

This guy came out to play in the snow this week. They're not very afraid of us, so with a long lens I can get pretty close. They're also not very afraid of us when it comes to eating our lettuce and strawberries. Uh, oh... now I might be guilty of libel. Maybe it was his 2nd cousin.

Hazel?

2010-01-08T14:47:00.002-07:00

It's still a mystery to us what color Katie's eyes are going to be. Check this out, what color would you say this is?

On a side note, Katie has just been mastering the art of picking up food. So cute!

She is so pleased with herself every time she gets something to her mouth. She bounces and waves her hands around to celebrate. Love it!

Handmade Holidays

2010-01-08T14:13:00.003-07:00

I love to give handmade gifts for Christmas. Maybe it's because creating things puts me in a merry mood or it's my own pushback against materialism. I like that it tells your loved ones that you truly put some time and thought into their gift.

Here's a few things I made this year. A dress for Eleanor and a matching skirt/shirt for Katie. I even made a matchy babydoll dress for Katie's baby. Yikes, handsewing is not my finest skill, but she's pretty forgiving.

I made matching aprons for my newlywed sister and her husband. Whipped up a little I-spy bag for my niece. And finally, made some new stockings for Katie and Eleanor. Not a great picture, but they have soft velvet and cute buttons.

I was encouraging Eleanor to make something for Katie insteading of buying a gift (with our money). So, she drew up this design for a bib and embroidered the whole thing herself! So proud, sniff...sniff. I just taught her a simple backstitch and she went to town. She's so pleased with it she wants Katie to wear it every time she eats!

Gavin even got into the fun and made the biggest bow I've ever seen to go on our new leather couch. Thanks honey!

Ice Castles

2010-01-06T10:37:00.002-07:00

My father-in-law always comes through on the best local events to check out. This year he found a jewel - or, more appropriately, a crystal. An artist is creating these incredible Ice Castles at a resort in Midway, UT. He works on it all winter long adding about 10 tons of ice every night with sprinklers. They glow an incredible blue color. These are about 20 feet tall, but they'll be about 3 stories high when they're complete. I'd love to go back in March to see the masterpiece! If you're in Utah, check it out.

Magical Moment #2

2009-12-23T14:38:00.002-07:00

We were so glad to see more snow coming down today. Eleanor's favorite song this year has been "White Christmas," so we were definitely hoping to have one!

Took some poinsettias to the cemetery today and that's when we noticed these amazing snowflakes. The conditions were perfect to see each individual six-pointed snowflake on the flowers and our coats for just a second before they melted. They were so beautiful it was like seeing jewels fall from the sky. Make this our 2nd Magical Christmas Moment (for #1, read our post from Thanksgiving). And this might be my new favorite catch-your-breath picture of the season.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas Visit

2009-12-14T11:48:00.002-07:00

We were lucky enough to have my sister's family come visit for a week while her husband had a work conference in Denver. Don't often get to see them since they live on the east coast. Lilly is the only cousin on my side of the family, and it was so fun to see the girls play together. Katie took to Jenny and Christian really well too.

All the ladies went out to The Nutcracker together which has become a fun Christmas tradition.

Another favorite tradition is making Graham-cracker houses. Jenny made some nice observatories, Christian made a lovely snow-princess castle for Lilly. Eleanor created a nice A-frame house - requiring all of Gavin's engineering skill to hold up the decorations. I went for Tudor style this year.

It was so fun to have company to start off the Christmas season. Thanks for the visit guys!

Beloved Grandpa

2009-12-11T11:12:00.002-07:00

Gavin's Grandpa Payne passed away this week. He was such a wonderful man. In my opinion, he is the perfect example of a family patriarch. Loved and respected by everyone. He's raised amazing children and left an incredible legacy for his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Gavin, his dad and grandpa all share the same middle name, which we also gave to Solomon.

Love this picture of all of them together. Grandpa was a gifted pianist who recorded several cds for his family. Gavin even used one to woo me on one of our first dates! We will sure miss Grandpa, but always remember his talents and faithfulness.

Deck the Halls

2009-12-11T11:01:00.002-07:00

I love the magic of decorating for Christmas. Especially when seeing things through a child's eyes. I sat Katie in a string a lights to catch this reflection. I have a similar picture of Eleanor that I've always loved.

Thanksgiving Vacation

2009-12-04T10:57:00.005-07:00

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving vacation to Iowa last week. Never been to Nebraska or Iowa before, so we got to add two new states to our list. We had the best traveling weather we could have asked for and enjoyed spending some great time with the Iowegian Paynes. :)

We spent an afternoon touring the bridges of Madison County. This bridge is at the city park in Winterset, Iowa, which is famous for being the birthplace of John Wayne. As we looked around the park, suddenly all these Christmas scenes lit up. It was just a magical moment. Eleanor was running from scene to scene singing Christmas songs.

These are the cool skywalks that connect most of the buildings in downtown Des Moines. Brilliant idea for a cold city - need to get these in Denver!

We went with Ryan and Sara to the Omaha Zoo on Saturday. They have some really cool exhibits like this domed desert world. They have a great jungle exhibit too where we even got buzzed by some bats.

Stopped to see the Winter Quarters temple on our way back. They had a fun gingerbread house exhibit at the Visitor's Center. Got lots of ideas for our graham cracker houses this year!