Paper Snowflakes part two

Today I made this paper snowflake, that I learned how to make through pinterest!

At first I thought that it'd be very difficult to make, but once you see how they fit together, they seem really simple!

 I followed the tutorial found here.

For a more complex version go here.

Paper Snowflakes and Presents

Today I made this paper snowflake. A few years ago when my sister was still living up here she taught me how to make these. If you want to learn go here or ask me. =)

The first pic doesn't show the paper's designs very well, so here's a close up.

I'm hoping to do some other 3D snowflake designs that I found over on Pinterest, if you know any let me know!

And lastly, a picture of my cute little kiddos with their spoils from my sister. Thanks Shandi! The kids love their presents!

Skating Fun

Josh's new work had their annual Christmas party last night at the Bellingham Sportsplex. There was free pizza and drinks and ice skating was free too! It was everyone else's first time at ice skating and it's been over 10 years since I last tried skating. Josh did OK, since they didn't even have skates in his size (he had to squeeze into some size 14s). Joshua was a little slow, but got it figured out. Gabriel and Zaccheaus did good as well, but loved the little walker things that gave them extra stability. Here's some pics of them playing around....

Gabe (green) colliding with friend Zoe

Cheaus (red) and Gabe (green)  racing 

Cheaus, Gabe and Zoe

I did get one pic of Joshua, but it was of him trying to get up after falling and he made me promise not to post it anywhere. Elizabeth looked so cute with her little figure skater skates on with one of her tutu outfits, but sadly I didn't take a single picture of her. 

I wore my skates for a bit getting acclimated to them, stepped out on the ice, moved about 10 feet  along the wall and called it quits and went back to being a spectator. My nearly 30 year old body can't do what it once did and I was really feeling each bump of the ice in my heel that has plantar fasciitis  (Little tip... don't walk long distances in Converse!). 

Hopefully next year we'll be a little better at skating, but probably not. LOL

Merry Swap

Hello everyone! I recently had the chance to participate in another Sister Shoebox Swap hosted by sister bloggers Monica and Carrie. This swap's theme was "Merry", perfect for this holiday season!
Dawn was my swap buddy again this time around and I loved getting to reconnect with her and put together a special package of goodies for her. Below is a pic of what I sent her...

sorry Dawn I stole this pic from you ;-)

I love the Nerf dart on the floor, reminds me of my house! LOL

I sent her pine-cones from around WA scented with rose hips and cinnamon (from Micheal's), jingle bells, candy canes, friendship soup mix, homemade cookies (in the box, from here and here), my favorite recipes written out on a digital scrapbooking kit, a cardinal candle holder and some of my favorite tea for her to try! 

Here is what I received from her...

I love the snowman box!

Paper crafts made by her! Gift tags, P for Price and a mini scrapbook!

Yummy treats! The kids' favorites!

 Beautiful ornaments! I love the pine-cones on the angel!

Homemade cookies (great minds think alike!), Christmas themed cupcake papers and picks and a snowflake spatula! I don't know why but the spatula makes me smile every time I see it!

I feel so spoiled by Dawn and loved everything in my box! Thanks Dawn!

Have a Blessed Christmas time Everyone!

Stoney Ridge Farm 2011

Like I said in my previous post, last Saturday we made our annual trip out to Stoney Ridge Farms in Everson. I love going there with the kids each year, usually with my sister and her kids and this year Josh was able to come along too! We rode the hay wagon, ate the most delicious apple pie ever, saw the animals, ate apples right off the tree, got lost in the corn maze, checked out the giant pumpkins, ate pumpkin donuts, kids rode the wagon train, saw lots of friends, ate yummy apple cider donuts and drank lattes made by our church friends, and picked up some kettle corn and fresh apple cider to enjoy at home. (I didn't realize how much eating we did that day, yikes!) Like always we had a blast and we'll keep going back year after year! Here's some cell photos of our day...

someone was a little excited by the ponies that were her size

Joshua, Elizabeth and Zaccheaus feeding the goats

Nelly and Ellie

"YeeHaw! I a Cowgirl!"

I'll get you Murphy...

... and your little "law" too!

Today I was supposed to go to Titus Two, but Josh had to work

I have one Saturday every few month that I schedule something and inevitably Josh will have some opportunity too good to pass up on that Saturday.

Made Cinnamon Rolls for Titus last night & they turned out ok, but the ones I made for the fam this morning were perfect... only difference was the pan I used!

Little tip; unglazed stoneware is not recommended for baking Cinnamon Rolls!

I decided I'll just drop off the Cinnamon Rolls I signed up to bring to Titus, but the truck wouldn't start

(the switch on the amp was left on and drained the battery, don't worry mom, your truck is fine)

Called Mrs. D @ the church and she had Mr. D come and pick up the cinnamon rolls (Yay!)

Tried taking a shower and all the hot water ran out

it's been over 2 hours since Josh took his shower

Had both my contacts roll back behind my eyes at the same time and had to work them back out

So now I'm sitting here, with icicle cold hair, a headache from poking at my eyes trying to retrieve my contacts, the kids are all hopped up on sugary cinnamon rolls and I'm worn out and ready for a do-over day.

Praise the LORD, I get to spend this afternoon/evening visiting with my sister and her family and going to Stoneyridge Farm! So hopefully that will redeem this day from it's horrible start. I'm off to blow a bunch of money, eat junk food and run my kiddos ragged! Hope your Saturday is off to a better start than mine! ;-)

Busy with school

It's been over a month since my last post and I swear we're all alive and well over here. We're even doing lots of fun stuff, but we've been so busy focusing on school this year I haven't been getting online much. Last school year kind of fizzled out around the time we moved in may, so we decided to hunker down and get caught up and just skip ahead in some subjects. This year we have a 5th grader, 3rd and 1st graders and Elizabeth is doing pre-pre-K (i.e educational playtime). 

I planned a back to school party and a first day of fall party for the kids, but neither of those came to fruition. We've been doing some fun projects and been working on some really exciting new endeavors for our family.I hate to tease (actually, no... I love it), but I can't divulge that information at this time. I'll let you know later. And NO! We are not pregnant, it's something else. ;-) 

Hopefully now that we're getting into our routine for the school year, I'll be able to get on here more and get more posts up. Oh, and just a note... I've deleted the couponing blog I've been doing. I'm not able to do all the deals others were getting in the larger metropolitan areas, so I just decided to quit the blog.

Her favorite thing...

Elizabeth's summer can be summed up with the love for one animal in particular... she has developed a love for horses! I'm not sure if it's just a girl thing or a her thing, but everywhere we go she finds horse toys, pictures, etc. Anything she sees with a horse on it, she exclaims "my horsie, for me!" LOL.

She rode them in Eastern WA



she rode them in Covington, WA



she rode them at the NW WA Fair in Lynden



she rode them at Shanel's party in Olympia, WA


 She loves them so much we did her birthday party with the cowgirl theme and the horse barns are where we spent most of our time at the NW WA Fair. While we were in the horse barn near the arena she spotted one just her sized and I'm pretty sure we sat there for nearly 10 minutes, just starring at that little pony. Oh, how I wish I could buy her one, but until that day we'll stick with the ones that only cost a quarter or two to ride!

The Fair

It's nearly the end of summer which brings one thing every year... The Northwest Washington Fair! We go just about every year, with the exception of last year... I think it was like 90+ degrees all week long, so we stayed indoors with A/C. ;-D

This years fair trip was extra special because it was on Elizabeth's actual birthday (we celebrated w/ her party a day early) and she was all dolled up and enjoying all the attention she got.

I know I've shared this story many times with people, but Elizabeth was nearly born AT THE FAIR! I had a surge of pregnant energy that year and took the city bus out to Lynden with the boys and met up with my mom and walked and walked hoping to get some real contractions going... and I did. Spent about 5 hours there walking around before Josh got off from school and met up w/ us to take us back home. As soon as I laid down at home my water broke! Called my mom (not more than an hour since we left her at the fair) and asked her to come get the boys. The next morning I was holding my baby girl! Ah, what great memories!

This year the weather was nice, sunny but not too hot. We had some yummy fair food treats, rode "big kid" rides and saw all the animals. Horses were Elizabeth's favorite. We saw lots of friends and just had an all around good day. Thanks for going with us this year, Mom!

Here's some pics of our day:

First my horrible fuzzy cell phone pics:



posing with a dairy cow




she liked the pink tractor




possible future as a dairy farmer?



Gabe playing the strong man game

 Now the pics with my moms fancy camera:

ready for the walk from grammas to the fairgrounds

my silly kiddos

my little milk maid

showing off their spoils

zonked out in her new wagon

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

So as I mentioned in my last post I've been busy planning and prepping for Elizabeth's birthday party that we had on Sunday. Overall it was a great party and Elizabeth had a blast! Turnout was small with just some cousins, Aunts and my mom and dad attending. But in a way it made it more special because the cousins were all from out of town, so our time could be solely focused on them and not our friends who we tend to see more often. Not that I wouldn't have loved having all her little friends there as well!

The party was at Pioneer Park in Ferndale, which just added to the "Vintage Cowgirl" theme I was going for. The back picnic shelter at the park had actually been turned into a stable, so it was fun to have that as our background and a place to do a hay-find game. The kids loved digging through all the hay looking for candies. We also played "pin the tail on the cow", where the kids earned a Cow-tail candy bar and each family got to take home a jar of Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookies.
Our party ended up happening in two parts because a member of the women's group that does the tours of Pioneer Park came over and said we had to be out by 5pm. So we packed everything up and did cake over by the playground off the parking lot, which is open until dark. While walking over to the other picnic tables the parks guy from the city came by and told us we could have stayed and he would have left the gates open until we were done (information that would have been great BEFORE we moved everything!). But, we went ahead with wrapping up the party at the playground anyways. Thanks everyone who made it!



Stole this pic off my sister's blog... isn't she a great photographer?



Resting and Planning

I feel like this summer (or lack there of) we have been sick more than any other! Mostly just allergy/cold type sicknesses that come with this damp Washington climate, but non the less we've had lots of sick kiddos lately which doesn't lead to many interesting blog posts, sorry! We've just been lounging around getting lots of rest and not doing a whole lot, trying to reduce risk of getting sick again.

Here's a little sneak peek at the projects I've been working on lately. Elizabeth is turning 3 on the 15th and we're doing a small party for her on Sunday. We chose the theme "vintage cowgirl" and below is a collage of my inspiration photos. Most are from TomKat Studios and I don't remember where the rest came from (sorry again). Elizabeth is very excited and for the first time is really understanding that this party is for her. Now I just hope it's fun enough for her that she's not disappointed when she doesn't get the "weel hosie" (real horsie) she asked for. LOL



31

Today is Josh's 31st birthday! No presents, no party, but still special and fun. His new work has a policy that on your birthday you get to go home an hour early, so that was a special treat for him. Here's some pics of our evening!

His Cake

Relaxing checking his emails

I think he got a little too relaxed

Thai coconut soup, chicken curry, tandoori chicken, basmati rice and naan bread...and a lot of sunshine =D

and no he didn't burn the house down with those!

Lynden City Park

 Last Friday, we needed a little change of scenery and some fun. So we headed up to Lynden to hang out with my mom and headed over to the Lynden City Park.



Elizabeth loves the "tot park"





My kids love this park! I haven't been since I was a kid and I almost drowned in the creek. (I went with a friend and her family and they were letting me do stuff I shouldn't have since I couldn't swim, I lost my footing and almost got washed down the creek) They've gone with Grandma a few times, but I've never taken them.

Maybe Zaccheaus will work with Grandpa & cousin Joseph when he gets older!

One of the things I love about this park is that the community really banned together to build it. They didn't just expect their city to do it for them. They donated materials and labor and the result it a huge fun place for the kids to play! (and they widened the creek & added some bridges to cross it now)



I want this in my backyard when I have a house!



Friday Funnies

In order to reduce distraction amongst my students here at the Price Academy, I have decided to instill a strict dress code requiring a specific school uniform. I find this will lead to more pride, loyalty, and equality among the student population.


Tell me what you think?


Boys Option



Girls Option

 HaHa, obviously I'm joking and poking fun at the stereo-types of homeschoolers, but honestly this is our school uniform most days. When all your bookwork is done before lunch time, why not just wait to get ready for the day. ;-D

Enjoy your weekend everyone! Hopefully we get some sunshine!

Our Family's 4th of July

Playing at Fairhaven Park

We went into this holiday weekend with no plans on the calendar and we were totally OK with that. We've been in our apartment for a month now and in that month we've visited with family in town, took two trips out of town, went to grad parties, baby showers, birthday parties. It has definitely been a very busy summer, so it was nice to just stay in Bham and have a relaxing weekend. We did go out for some fun on the 4th, though. We took the kids to play and have a BBQ at Fairhaven Park. They have one of those spray pools, just like Cornwall Park, but without the creepy transients lurking about staring at your family while you try to eat your picnic, lunch (yes, I'm speaking from experience there!).


Boys getting a workout

The kids played while Josh headed back to the apt to pick up our forgotten supplies. We always remember all the big stuff and forget one or two little things that are absolutely necessary for our trips. This time it was the pan to use on Josh's camp stove. Had the food, stove and propane...just forgot the pans, LOL!


Time for the water park!

When Josh got back, it was about 1pm and the water park had opened. So, the kids played while Josh cooked. I sat and took pictures. It was LOVELY! =D Elizabeth was real hesitant at first to go into the spraying part of the water, but Gabriel and Joshua helped her get comfortable with it and she was running about on her own in no time.


I think she likes it now

Our kids love this place and we come here quite often in the summer months. I love that they can play and cool down with out me having to worry about the depth of the water or pack around a bunch of floaties. I can't swim myself, so I always panic when they're playing in pools/lakes and Josh isn't around. 


Big brother picking on little brothers... timeless

The boys splashed and rough housed and did typical gross boy stuff & loved every last second of it!


Lunch break

Josh made hamburgers with grilled peppers and onions and we brought chips and potato salad. I forgot the watermelon and carrot sticks. =(
Oh, and we did s'mores as well. I tried out those "stackable" marsh mellows and didn't really care for them. You get about half the amount of marsh mellow that is in the regular ones, but they do stack better, so I guess they fit their purpose.



Enjoying bbq'd burgers

I hope you all had a blessed holiday weekend!