Random Thought

Oh my own bed! Sweet release!

Do you know that feeling after a long trip? Your own bed beckons to you from far distances with the promise of a good nights sleep. Your head and pillow yearn to reunite. The familiar feel of being wrapped up in your favorite sheets as you reconnect with your empty mattress. Oh my own bed! Sweet release!

After five nights away we came home to a broken upstairs AC and a fuming 95 degrees. We camped out down stairs on sofas and cots.

AIN'T LIFE FUNNY!!

Recycle Renew Reuse RE-ALLY

I sat down at my sewing machine on Saturday, it was the first time in a very long time. I recycled little girl tank tops into little girl skirts. I tried to recycle my finger too, not sure what I was trying to create but I really ended up with a mess.

This extremely wonderful idea came to me while I was searching through clothes at the Goodwill hunting down skirts for a two year old that refuses to wear pants or shorts. I couldn't find anything that I loved so I moved on. While I was browsing through the shirts the idea clicked. I can cut the tops of these shirts off and make skirts. ONLY, after looking around I noticed that the tank tops on this beautiful 50% off Saturday were only 99 cents. I picked out about six that I liked, found a couple of bags of different colored threads for 50% off, and bought some elastic at Walmart. I came home cut the tops off of the tank tops, set them next to my sewing machine and there they have sat for about two months.

Saturday I sat down at my sewing machine in the mood for a little crafting. Next to my sewing machine I found, unfinished recycle projects, unfinished dresses for Kendal, mending that needed to be done, and a Cub Scout shirt in need of patches. I was busy doing something that I loved and once I am finished with the wonderful stack of things to sew I plan on making a new stack. This time some aprons for the kids, hair bows for the girls, and a little something recycled for me.

Here is the break down for the Tank Top to a skirt project.

First you need to find tank tops or regular shirts will work too that flare out a little and are pretty long. The length of the tank and how long you need the skirt to be is going to be the deciding factor, it was easy to find tanks long enough for Kendal but it was a little difficult to find some long enough for Maggie. I checked out the women's section but I didn't really see anything I liked, but that is definitely an option for longer skirts. You may already have something in your closet, baby doll shirts work great!

To Make:

1. Place the shirt on a cutting surface. Using a straight edge find a spot just under the arms or straps of the shirt where you can cut a straight line. Rotary blades work great but scissors will do the job too.


2. You can throw away the top of the shirt or get creative and use it to embellish the skirt with ruffles or maybe even a matching flower for her hair.


3. Hope you know sewing terms. Now all you have to do is make a casing at the top for an elastic band.


4. Insert the elastic; Tip: Fasten a safety pin on one end to make it easier to insert the elastic. Sew the ends of your elastic together.


5. Sew your casing closed.


VIOLA!! No hems! WOO HOO! Already has ruffles and embellishments! YES!


Very easy project and each skirt only ended up costing a little over $1.00 each, that's cheaper than fabric. To recycle all six skirts only took me a little over an hour.

Sorry no before pictures, you will just have to trust me that at one time all of these skirts used to be shirts.

I can't wait to tell you my no brainer, brainiac idea for bloomers! Next time.

Happy Sewing!

Holiday Weekend

We had a fantastic holiday weekend filled with the beautiful outdoors, food, family, and fun.

Saturday we went to the lake with daddy's family and we were able to spend time with Aunt Kosette, Matt, Uncle Philip, Grandpa, and Uncle Jonathan's family. As always being on the lake with family was a blast!

Sunday we traveled north to visit with mommy's family. We went to church with one of my greatest eternal friends Trista, it was so good to see her. I sat in on her Young Women's lesson and it reminded just how wonderful she is and how much I miss being around her.

After church we went to the lake for a picnic. It was just the six of us and we had a wonderful peaceful time. The weather was amazing, the kids were well behaved, the mood at the lake was calm and it was very relaxing.

After our picnic we met family at my sister Jennifer's house (she is the best hostess EVER). We had a hot dog and marshmallow roast prior to watching the 4th of July explode into the air. We had a great time with all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and of course Me-ma and Pa-pa.

Monday we hit the lake for some good old fashioned fishing. This is definitely the one thing I miss most about living at home, the spontaneous fishing trips. My mom is the best fisher lady I know and I have so many great memories of family and fun wrapped up in the art of fishing. I was excited to see her helping the kids and teaching them her mad fishing skills. The fishing was not great, just little cat fish and some trout, but there were a lot of them and the kids were able to catch lots of fish.

We ended our weekend with one final trip to Aunt Jennifer's house so Maggie could swim with her cousin David. Maggie loves her cousin and they play so great together. She was able to spend a week playing with him while we were in Chicago and she missed him lots.

The weekend was filled with so many great things. Matthew was able to work on some Cub Scout achievements, MY LB and I were able to spend time with our families, and our little Out Numbered family made more lasting memories that hit the book of time, never to be forgotten.

Happy 4th of July

Back to the basics, how long has it been since you have read it? It has been a long time for me. In church on Sunday someone encouraged us to read the Constitution and find direction in our forefathers. What wonderful advice!

Thank you to all of the men and women that sacrifice for the freedom of our country and a thank you to their families for their great sacrifices. God Bless America!

Chicago

Have I told you how amazing MY LB is yet? Just in case I haven't, MY LB is absolutely, incredibly, undeniably amazing!

Last week he was asked to do a presentation at the McCormick conference center in Chicago during a HUGE American Water conference. I am so proud of him and feel like the luckiest girl in the universe. Especially because... I GOT TO GO WITH HIM!!!

It was such a great trip from start to finish. It has been a long time since we have been together for a week just the two of us and I have to say there is no one else in the entire world that I would rather be with (good thing, right?).

The trip was long and wonderful and I could go on and on and on but I decided to just stick with the highlights and than I remembered that there were no lowlights so I decided to give you a crazy collage of our adventures in Chicago, as not to miss a single thing. Sound boring? Absolutely not!

The plane ride was fantastic, I was able to sleep and read there and back. My Spencer wasn't at all impressed that we were going to Chicago he just wanted pictures of the plane. He gave us very specific instructions, he wanted pictures inside of the plane, what outside looked like while we were flying and a picture of our airplane. I think people may have thought we were crazy with all of the airplane picture taking but our little boy is totally worth it.





It was a whirl wind when we first arrived. Because of MY LB's position at his company we had some of the company's that have contracts with AZ American Water wining and dining us. Well they dined us and wined themselves, which actually made for very interesting dinner conversation. So upon arrival we had to get all dressed up in the car to be on time for one of the two dinner appointments that we had during our trip.

Sunday was Father's Day and I think that we would have been sad that the kiddos weren't there IF it wasn't our first official day of vacation (sorry kiddos). This was also my first of four days that I was let loose in Chicago all by myself. It was so exciting being in the city, the tall buildings, people rushing here and there, taxi's, honking, L train, city parks, fountains, and all of the hustle and bustle that comes with the city. It was exhilarating being all by myself doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Shopping, eating, taking pictures, hop on hop off tours, renting a bike, museums, the zoo, a day at the spa, reading by the pool, a walk through the park, and my favorite boat cruises on the lake. I walked A LOT but I also hailed my first taxi.

As much as I enjoyed being by myself I cherish the one on one time I was able to spend with MY LB. Chicago style pizza, temple trip, dinner on the river, city walks at night, and we spent all day Wednesday together. Wednesday was a great day; Willis Tower (Sears Tower), hop on hop off trolley tour, planetarium, history museum, aquarium, the Navy Pier, Bubba Gump shrimp, river boat cruise, a ride on the Ferris Wheel, a walk/run in the rain, and Harry Connick Jr. at the Chicago Theatre. Can you say, WOW!

Here we are making our two plus mile dash back to our hotel after the lightning began while we were up, up, up on the Ferris Wheel. It was very sudden and by the time we finally made it to our hotel we were ankle deep in water, clothes drenched, the wind began to blow, and I can't forget this, the Tornado sirens all over the city were blaring, warning people to get inside. We are smiling in the picture because the sirens weren't on yet and it still seemed fun.

It was such an amazing trip and I must say....

I love Chicago!

And more than anything....

I love MY LB!

Can't forget to give my big SHOUT out to Me-Ma and Pa-Pa for taking care of our girls and Grandma and Grandpa for taking care of our boys. We love you so much and are so grateful for all that you do. THANKS!

Funny of the Day

Yesterday morning at library story time...

He was too old for the stories

He was too old for the songs

He was too old for the craft

He was too old to pet the dogs

He was even too old for jokes about being too old

Last night he slept......

SNUG AS MY LITTLE BUG IN A RUG

I don't think I am going to be spending much time dwelling on the fact that he's getting older.

At least not for now!

Thanks to MY LB for a great sense of humor and capturing this awesome moment in time.

Another Spiritual High

I am going through another one of those extreme spiritual highs. The kind that can only be achieved by two full days of spiritual messages, some of which were given by the General Relief Society President, Julie Beck and a General Authority Dallin H. Oaks. Yes, in person. Yes, truly amazing!

I am one week and some change from returning home from Women's Conference in Utah and still going spiritually strong. To avoid being a preacher and instead being a women of shared knowledge I will give you bits and pieces at a time. But first and fore most I must tell you who I shared this journey with. My sister in law Ashlee shared this fine and wonderful experience with me. I feel so blessed to know her!

Here we are at the service opportunity making Tu Tu's for little princesses in the hospital.

This is the storm that Ashlee protected us from, bless her. I was so glad that I was not the one driving. We ran into snow on the way there and on the way home. Both times there was a vehicle flipped over on the side of the road. Very scary, thankfully we had the protective shield of prayer on our side. Upon seeing this picture MY LB said he was pretty sure that he DID NOT sign up for allowing me out in this weather. Who knew, the weather forecast said rain and some sunshine. Which is why we signed up to run in the Provo Run13 5K.

Here we are soaking wet from the rain and yes, snow that fell during our race. Of course with all of the rain, snow, running, and exhaustion it was easy to forget the temperature was in the 30s. That is until we stopped, now we were wet and freezing. It has been a long time since I have found so much satisfaction from a hot shower.

The entire Wonmen's Conference experience including the shopping, minus the driving conditions was amazing as always. Only this time I promise, really I promise, I am going to keep that spirit alive.

My first story I will share with you now....

Of course being women that the talks were designed for we heard a lot about, fighting guilt, staying strong amidst adversity, overcoming failure, celebrating our achievements, and lots of other you are worth more than you think topics. So, with all of this fresh in my mind I knelt down to pray before my 5K race. I felt the spirit so strong (that's what happens when you have time away from the kids. I KID I KID) and I had a strong feeling that I needed to "Smile and Run". Whatever else happened I needed to keep on smiling throughout my entire run. I was determined!

Oh what a challenge. It was cold (DI thrift store saved our hides from freezing to death, dumb unprepared warm weather runners), I smiled. It rained, I smiled. It snowed, I smiled. I wanted to walk but pushed through with a smile. I was being passed by lots of people, I smiled. I thought it was going to be easier than it actually was to keep smiling but goodness knows there was plenty to NOT smile about. I had to keep reminding myself to smile. By the end I wasn't sure if I was really actually smiling anymore, I had to feel my mouth to make sure. I REALLY wanted to be smiling when I crossed that finish line.

My fantastic sister in law Alison came to watch us and snapped this photo of me crossing the finish line. I think I was trying to smile but I can't really tell (maybe I am crying instead). I know that in my head I was saying, Smile, Smile, Smile.

Either way, I learned a very valuable lesson during that race, one that I am trying to carry over into my actual living. You know the everyday matters of life. The rain, snow, cold weather, exhaustion, and feeling like you are being passed by everyone around you. I am trying my best to keep reminding myself, just "Smile and Run", just "Smile and Run".

Oh how I truly hope that at lifes finish line I will have a smile on my face, one that I didn't force to be there. A genuine, I am so glad to be home smile that will be returned ten fold by a loving Heavenly Father.

To all of you my friends I encourage, despite what everyday has to offer you try your best to just.....

"SMILE AND RUN"

Two Girls and a Bike

How do you get to school?

Do you go by boat?

Do you go by plane?

How about a horse?

Or even a train?

Do you go by car?

Do you go by van?

How about a bus?

Or maybe you ran?

My girl and I,

We have something we like.

Together we ride,

On mom's new bike!

Do you ever come across an everyday occurrence that you want to stamp on the book of time? This is one of those things that I never want to forget. It is something that Maggie and I share, girl time.

On our bike rides to and from school we have shared many little talks, advice about school, warnings to make good choices, and more than anything "giggles". I know I have said it before and I shall say it again, I want this girl to know good wholesome fun. To recognize it, to delight in it, to bring it to others, and above all to know how to create it. Fun is good!