These Summer Nights

Last week we all went outside to enjoy the perfect summer evening. Living in West Jordan it seems to always be super windy here enough so where it's not enjoyable to be outside not to mention the really hot weather we've been experiencing. So when we noticed that there was hardly even a breeze and the temperature was just right it was worth keeping Mia up a little past her bedtime to all get out to get some fresh air and stretch our legs.

Mia was very excited to get outside and run around. With Eric being gone the whole last week we didn't get out much so she was very antsy. She always keeps us laughing and smiling while at the same time making us want to rip our hair out sometimes in frustration. It's funny how toddler can do that :)

Livy is growing so fast too! She already doesn't seem like my little newborn anymore. These cute little smiles of her's just melt my heart. I love my sweet baby!

Can we just take a moment and admire these cute new boat shoes I got in the mail a few weeks ago. I found these online at Famous Footware for a great price. So much to Eric's dismay I couldn't help but order them.

This week we are getting ready to host the 4th of July with my parents and little brother and lets not forget going to Stadium of Fire.  We will be listening to some Kelly this week to prepare! We've also got some other fun activities and meals planned so stay tuned for pictures of the celebrations! 

Hope everyone has a great Independence Day!

Summer Activties

Last week I decided it was time to start getting out and doing some fun summer activities for Mia which also meant starting to go out with both of the girls by myself, something I had rarely had done yet. 

After asking around and looking online for some summer activities in the area we settled on trying out a free splash pad in Herriman. Splash pads are perfect when you have multiple kids to keep an eye on since they can still have fun in the water and you don't have to worry about them jumping in the deep end of a pool and drowning. (Mia is fearless when it comes to water and would do this in a heartbeat.) We went with some friends and for being a free splash pad it was a nice one and wasn't really as busy as I was expecting.

I also found a summer kids movies program select Megaplexs were doing in the area.

In the past Mia didn't do so great at sitting through a movie in the theaters, but that being several months ago I thought I'd give it another go since it would be a fun out and Livy would most likely sleep through the movies. We went and saw "Horton Hears A Who" last week and she did pretty good for the most part. We'll see how the rest go.

Other then that we still spend a lot of time at home, especially when Eric is away at work and I've been up a lot of the night with Livy. Mia is constantly finding ways to entertain us.

One day Mia decided it necessary to climb into her play kitchen. She spend the better of the morning there.

This is how I get Mia to sit still while I play with her hair. I tried curling it and it lasted for a whole of 5 minutes before she messed it all up and the curls fell out since her hair is so fine.

Mia is always finding different things to put on...this day it was a dirty shirt over her pajamas and her bike helmet.

This day was my glasses.

And this day was her so called "pretty princess hat".

And this is basically what Livy does when all of this is going on and she isn't sleeping.

Summer Project Announcement!

A few posts back I mentioned a big project I have been working on with my sister and sister-in-law. After reminiscing about the fair we did in Ely two years ago (post about it HERE) and having multiple chats about home decor projects we decided to come together one last time before we all live in different states and do the Arts in the Park fair in Ely this summer! This time around we are focusing just on home decor with a rustic feel that is very popular in the world of home decor right now.

It's been fun to work together again doing something we all love and creating things that others can enjoy as well. We still have a lot of work to do in the next month and a half before the fair, but wanted to take this time to get the word out and show some sneak peaks on the things we are working on.

So hop on over to our SHA Designs blog (http://shadesigns4u.blogspot.com) and stay updated on this crazy endeavor we've signed up for again after having a baby, having traveling husbands, as both Annelise and Sara prepare to move and all the other activities that summer brings.

Happy Father's Day!

As many others, I wanted to take today and dedicate this post to the amazing father my daughters are so lucky to call theirs...aka a bragging post.

I don't think words would do it justice to express the joy it gave me to see Eric hold our daughters for the first time in the hospital and see that amazed and loving look in his eyes. I also love seeing how excited Mia gets when her daddy comes home or when he plays with her and watching him rock Livy to sleep. I really picked the best of the best!

So thanks hun for constantly bending over backwards to make sure we're taken care of. Not by just going to work every week but coming home and taking care of the girls, getting up with them at night, cooking and cleaning, being so willing to watch the girls when I need a break, taking Mia on daddy-daughter dates voluntarily and letting me rant about how what a pill Mia was that day or letting me share all the cute things both Livy and Mia do because you've given me the greatest gift of getting to stay home and take care of them.

And of course, I am also very grateful for a wonderful father of my own. I will never forget when I got my heart broken by some guy for the first time and my dad bought me flowers and chocolate or being the first one to tell me it was ok to mourn over loosing my babies when I miscarried twins. There have been many other times like these where I have been truly touched from what my dad has done for me. He's being one of my biggest examples spiritually throughout my life and supporter. I love you dad!

So Happy Father's Day to these two amazing fathers and to all the other fatherly figures I've had throughout my life!

Oh the Places You'll Go

Last week Eric flew off to Virginia for work and I headed to Ely to stay with my parents while he was gone. This was the first time Eric had left for work since having Livy and I'm going to be totally honest in that I missed him...a LOT! Luckily my parent's house had a lot of distractions and people around to help out with the girls as well as the loneliness I would be feeling if I was at home by myself.

As Eric is starting to travel again we both are looking for ways to stay close and keep our relationship strong. A new thing we tried this last trip was sending each other at least 2 pictures a day about whatever is going on. I really liked it as it let me see a little bit of where Eric spends every other week and Eric gets to see what us girls are up to. So here was our week according to our Iphones! :)

Mia had fun playing outside as much as I would let her as well as with her cute cousin Addie and I had fun getting to spend some quality girl time with my sister before she deserts me and moves to Oregon at the end of the summer ;)

Also while I was in Ely my little brother graduated for 8th grade. It's kind of a big deal to go from 8th grade into high school in the small world of Ely, Nevada. They had a promotion ceremony which of course involved the full reading of Dr. Suess's "Oh the Places You'll Go". As luck would have it all of my sibling were home to go embarrass support Seth. We may have brought a whole box of poppers to shoot at Seth after the ceremony :) It was fun to all be together before everyone moves away and as much as Seth would deny this I know he was glad we were all there too! Way to get through the awkward years of middle school Seth!

It was a fun and helpful week in Ely with my family, but has been good to back in our own home with Eric and the girls!

Family Scrabble Wall Art

In all honesty, I am horrible at the game of Scrabble or anything related to it, but I am very much in love with all the scrabble home decor that has been populating the world of pinterest.

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a scrabble wall art piece for my mother for Mother's Day. Talk about an easy project that equated into some cute wall art...my favorite kind of project!

Here's the how to for making this Family Scrabble Wall Art:

Supply list

6- 10 inch wood squares (I had some leftover 3/4" plywood from Mia's bed that I used)

black acrylic paint

cardstock

printer

tape

foam brush

I printed out the letters on card stock and then cut them out to make a stencil. Then I taped my stencil onto my 10 inch wood squares and painted it with the black paint.

When that is done you could call it good and just hang then individually on the wall or connect them. I used a few nails in each to connect mine and then added some sawtooth hangers on the back to hang on the wall.

That's it folks! Easy-peesy!

Linked to:
http://www.create-with-joy.com/2013/06/inspire-me-monday-week-75.html
http://sparklesandastove.com/all-things-pretty-linky-party-11/
http://www.ajennuinelife.com/2013/06/thrifty-to-nifty-thursdays-20.html
http://makingtheworldcuter.com/2013/06/making-the-world-cuter-monday-55/
http://diyshowoff.com/2013/06/09/that-diy-party-20/
http://www.madincrafts.com/2013/06/mad-skills-party-159.html
http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/71-share-your-projects/
http://www.fidlersunderoneroof.com/2013/06/fidlin-fridays.html

Livy's Baby Blessing

Last weekend Eric blessed our sweet little Livy. We felt truly blessed and loved as we were surrounded by family and friends for the occasion. Thank you to everyone who were able to make it for this special event.

It warmed my heart to see Livy surrounded by worthy priesthood holders that love her as Eric gave a beautiful blessing. I felt so very grateful at that moment for the blessing to be both Mia and Livy's mother even though at times I feel that don't deserve it. I hope I can live up to this precious gift I have been given to raise these sweet spirits and teach them to know that they have a Father in Heaven who loves them very much and wants nothing more for them to be happy. So much so that He has a plan to ensure that they can know eternal happiness. A happiness that I have felt these last couple of years meeting and marrying the man I am lucky enough to spend not only life with but eternity and having two healthy, beautiful girls to spend it with as well.

I am so very grateful for the gospel in my life and the truths it has taught me in knowing that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me. He has guided me and continues to guide me through my life, through the ups and downs, to the things that will bring me a greater happiness I could have never known without this knowledge. 

My heart if full and I am forever grateful!

As I mentioned in my last post I made the girls matching dresses for the blessing. I made them out of ruffle fabric which I recently discovered and LOVE following this tutorial here. They were so easy to make and oh so cute! Sadly church was at 9 so we were scrabbling just to make it on time so I didn't get a picture of the girls together before church and only a few quick pictures of Mia afterwards before she got poo all over her dress and Livy wet through her diaper onto to her's. What's a mother to do!

Following the blessing we all went over to a park and had homemade Cafe Rio burritos! Yum!