Cruise Details

We took a 4-day cruise to Catalina and Ensenada for our 10th Anniversary.  It was amazing.  We spent a lot of time relaxing and enjoying the ship.  We played mini golf, ping pong, shuffleboard, tried out the water slide (one time it was freezing water), relaxed in the hot tubs, watched a couple of shows and ATE a lot (or at least I did).  Who can resist all-you-can-eat food, right?  We ate buffet style for breakfast and lunch, then had our dinners in the dining room.  The staff was great and we enjoyed our "table mates" a lot.  We chuckled that in putting us with couples our age, we were at a table of 3 sets of newlyweds and one engaged couple.  One of the couples was even LDS.  Small world, right?  I even managed not to talk about the kids pretty much the whole time.  I haven't had so many adult conversations in a long time.

In Catalina, we did a little shopping and went to visit the hotel we stayed at for our honeymoon (seems like yesterday).  In Ensenada, we did some more shopping, ate some fabulous tacos and took an hour and a half horseback ride that went up the hills and had some beautiful views.

All in all, it was just so nice to get away from our daily lives and have time together.  I am so in love with my dear husband, I wish these kinds of excursions weren't so few and far between.

Picnic Table Facelift

Quite a while back, my in-laws picked up this old picnic table that a neighbor was throwing out.  They knew that we might like it since we were new homeowners and were in need of patio furniture.  Well, she sat around on the porch in this sad state for a long time.

Well, I finally got around to reinforcing the wobbly legs (after my husband broke a bench by standing on it), and sanding her down a bit.  Then, for $15 she is good as new with a fresh coat of paint.

Not quite so embarrassing to show off on the front patio anymore.I think it goes pretty well with the porch swing, too. 

The next part of our makeover involves painting the trim of the house.  What a beast of a project!

Bon Voyage!

4-Day cruise for our 10th Anniversary was AMAZING!!!   Much deserved time with my husband was PRICELESS!  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for watching the kids for us.

Uno Birthday Party

My baby girl turned one.  Love this munchkin!

Here are some decorations and the cake

And of course, the cake.  Yummy!

Happy Birthday, Miss Lou!

Uno Birthday Party

My baby girl is gong to turn UNO.  I have seen some cute Uno themed birthdays lately and I'm going to copy the good idea.  First, I went and bought a $5 T-shirt to make into an Uno shirt.

I cut some freezer paper with my Silouette machine and ironed it on to the shirt.  (If you want more info about freezer paper stencils, check out Make It and Love It).  Next, I used some fabric paint to paint on my Uno logo.  I used two coats to make sure it came out.  Then I removed my freezer paper and Voila!

Next, I've got to get my Uno decorations and cakes ready.  I picked up a pack of Uno cards for less than $5 to decorate with.  Wish me luck.

Another "Paper Bag" Dress

I made another little paper bag dress. The only difference is that this time I made my own binding.  Sounded too hard or time consuming at first, but it wasn't so bad and it's MUCH more affordable than paying for your own.  To find out more about making bias tape for your own binding, check out Dana's explanation at MADE and
Ashley's explanation on Make It and Love It.

Kid Slippers

Found a cute pattern online for making little kid slippers at Made by Rae.  My kids didn't want dragons - although I thought they were awesome.  So I took them to the fabric store and let them each pick out their own fabric.  They were so excited and they love that they got to pick out their own designs.  I've finished 3 pairs, 1 more to go (the baby doesn't need any yet).  Here's a sample of how they turned out.  

Now their little tootsies aren't so cold on our tile floor.  (Plus they like to slide around in them)  The only thing I did different is that I used suede for the bottoms and lined the bottom with fleece.  She used sherpa material, but I already had the suede and it worked out great.

A Change Can Do You Good

I'm a big advocate for changing things up and doing something new every so often.  Keeps life interesting.


I got brave enough . . . finally. . . to chop off all my hair. I've always wondered what it would be like to go super short, so I finally mustered up the strength and went for it.

 

Before

After

Contrary to popular believe, short hair is much harder for me to maintain than long hair.  I actually have to style it and use product every day.  No more putting it up and out of sight.  I really like it, but I'm also still adjusting to doing it and seeing myself because it's so different.

Happy Easter

All I Want For Chirstmas is . . . .

What a cute little guy!