FAMILY wooden blocks

I've got a table in my entry way that I love to decorate for different holidays, but I've come to realize that I needed something generic to display when there wasn't a major holiday close by.  This year I had my Easter decorations up until the 4th of July just because I had nothing else to put up, so this is what I've been working on:  Some wooden blocks that spell out FAMILY.

The blockes are 3" square.  First I sanded down all the blocks and painted the edges black.  Then I used mod podge to adhere different patterened black and white paper to each side.  Once that was all dry I attached the letters using mod podge as well.  The letters were just cut out of paper on a cricut machine which was lots cheaper that using vinyl and they turned out great.

Now I've got something to display on my table other than patriotic decor until Halloween comes around.

Being a Mom

Dear Lord, it’s such a hectic day

With little time to stop and pray

For life’s been anything but calm

Since you called on me to be a mom

Running errands, matching socks

Building dreams with building blocks

Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes

And other stuff that children lose

Fitting lids on bottled bugs

Wiping tears and giving hugs

A stack of last weeks mail to read

So where’s the quiet time I need?

Yet when I steal a minute, Lord

Just at the sink or ironing board

To ask the blessings of Your grace

I see then, in my small one’s face

That you have blessed me

All the while

And I stop to kiss

That precious smile.

                                       -Author Unknown

Earring Holder

For months this earring holder has been on my list of projects to complete.  Last week I took my daughter to get her ears pierced, so today we finally got around to creating a place for her to keep track of her earrings.

I started out with a picture frame from IKEA and a sheet of plastic stuff with holes in it cut down to size (don't even know what it's called)

I assembled the frame and then used little round stickers to get a polka-dot look.  For the frame with just white polka-dots I put the stickers on, then spray painted it blue.  For the frame with brown and white polka-dots I put some stickers on, spray painted it brown, added more stickers, then spray painted it blue.  Once all the paint was dry I simply peeled off the stickers and dropped the plastic into the frame.

Now we have some cute earring holders for our earrings.  I love the way they turned out.

Kimball Arts Festival

Yesterday we took the kids up to Park City for the Kimball Arts Festival.  We saw some great Art, but the things the kids enjoyed the most were the face painting, news broadcast, and enjoying a good old ice-cream cone ;)

Looks like we'll be taking home 3 paintings after all.

Whitney's Birthday

Whitney thought she wouldn't be having a birthday party this year with her friends, but instead I planned a surprise party at the splash park.  She had no idea I had invited all her friends.  We had pizza, drinks and cupcakes, opened presents, then let the kids play in the water and on the playground.  They had lots of fun.

We also invited grandparents over to celebrate:

She was very excited when she got a hula-hoop and a DS.  Come to find out Whitney is great at multi-tasking.

BYOB-Bring Your Own Boat

Last year my family started a new annual Pioneer Day tradition.  We meet at the lake for a day of boating.  The only requirement is you bring your own homemade boat.  Last year we were restricted to cardboard boats only, so most of them didn't float very long, except my dad's.  Last year my dad built a cardboard canoe which was covered in plastic, duct tape and designed to hold about 300 lbs.  Being that he is an engineer, his boat stayed afloat for nearly 3 hours.  This year we took an "anything goes" approach.  My kids built their boat with a plastic bin and lots of 2 liter bottles.  My brother came with a pretty cool tug boat, my mom didn't quite finish hers an we also had a few inflatable boats.  We had tons of fun paddling around and enjoying a day in the sun :)

God Bless America

Well I finally got around to putting up my Patriotic Decor.  It's a good thing it's still July.  Better late than never I guess.

A Walk in the Park

Today was a great day for a walk in the park.  We played in the creek, saw a bird's nest in a tree, some chickens and a family of ducks.  We also played at the playground with Grandma.  Sometimes it's nice to slow down a bit and just enjoy life.

Baseball Season

Baseball season has come to an end.  This year Whitney played on an all girls coach pitch team and loved it and Cody played Little Leauge.  His team took 1st Place, Go Astros!!!

Daddy's Little Helper

Jaxon just got a little lawn mower for his birthday.  Now every time Brandon mows the lawn or edges Jaxon runs to get his lawn mower then follows Dad around.  He mows right around the edges and then goes back and forth just like he's really mowing the lawn.  It's so cute :)

Kitchen Table Reveal

Well the weather has not cooperated, but I finally finished my kitchen table.  Here's another look at what it looked like before:

And here is the after:

I think it looks so much better with the colors of our kitchen than it used to.  The table top is an ivory color with a brown glaze on top to give it kind on an antique look.  I love that it's not just a solid color and the black really stands out against the neutral cabinets and tile.  What a difference a little paint makes!!!

Well Over-Due Updates

About a month ago my computer decided not to recognize my SD card anymore, so I haven't been able to post in awhile.  I had to go dig out the box my camera came in, install the software and download pictures directly off my camera using the USB cord instead.  Really, not hard, just took some getting around too.  So here is what we've been up to the past month.

Kitchen Table Re-do

Here is a sneek peak at what I am currently working on.  This is my aweful kitchen table before I pulled out the spray paint.

The color doesn't go well in my kitchen at all, not to mention the stains on the table top.  The project is about half finished, so if the weather cooperates I should be able to show the completed project by the end of the week.  Knock on wood!

Picture Frame Craft

I started out with a few wooden picture frames, painted the edges black, then mod podged some scrapbook paper to the front.  Once they were all dry I flipped them over, lined them up and stapled a ribbon to the back to connect them all together.  Now I just need to print some pictures to go inside the frames ;)

Jaxon's 2!!

Now Dad can have some help mowing the lawn.

Jaxon liked scooping up his cake and ice-cream with his new dump truck.

Easter

The cousins came over for an Easter Egg Hunt.  It was such a nice day.