i ♥ coconut & other random thoughts part 2

Um...just found out that there are now coconut M&M's. The pack says Limited Edition. I hope not.

Completed craft project #1 from Ben Franklin. I think it turned out really cute. It's a framed magnet board with really cute magnets. Casey let me hang it up in the office. I didn't think it would happen but it did! I love it. On to craft project #2 and #3.

Boy is it HOT out there. Went outside to run a few errands today and couldn't believe it. I am so thankful for the air conditioning in our house (which I was against getting last year). It is truly wonderful. Chels and Pea are here right now enjoying a little cool off time. Looks like they might be coming back again soon.

Oh yeah...I love this picture. Go Seahawks!

I ♥ U

just because

a rocky start

The first binkyless night got off to a rough start. She never did take a nap yesterday. I think this made her extra tired and all the more wanting the binky.

After "waking up" from nap we had the party. What is a "bye bye binky" party you ask? Well, it looks something like this:

First, give one last suck to a few of the binks.

Second, you put them all in a box and wrap them up.

Wave goodbye. She was very gung-ho about all of

this and just kept saying, "I'm a big girl now!"

Next, take the box out to the mailbox to send them to some babies who need them. These binkies were "sent" to Baby Mickey, Baby Minnie, Baby Enzo, & Baby Colton.

Then, you start the real party! A gift for being such a big girl.

If you know me, you know that I am not the biggest fan of character clothes (just my personal preference). So this was a VERY special treat. I knew she would just LOVE it and was hoping it would sooth the need for the binky that night.

Lastly, you eat cupcakes and hope for the best.

The party was a major success and there were no tears....until later that night. It was so sad. She just kept crying for it and saying, "I want my binky back!" After a lot of crying she FINALLY fell asleep and slept through the night.

We're just about to go into our first binkyless nap (in 30 minutes). We'll see how it goes. I'm not expecting success, its still early but I think she's doing a pretty good (and cute) job of being a "big girl."

note to self

This post is mostly a note to myself- a reminder. Today we are having a big "bye bye binky" party after nap. This is Heidi with her binky for the last time...

I'm a little sad and a little nervous. Heidi is not the best sleeper anyways and I really hope this doesn't mess her up even more. BUT I'm writing this to remind myself that right now she is "napping" with her binky and is not sleeping yet. It's been 45 mintues and she's jibber jabbering away in there. So tomorrow when she doesn't nap...I can't blame it entirely on the binky. About once a week she does this same thing and lays in her crib without ever falling asleep. We'll see how the party goes and how a binkyless night goes. Wish us luck.

Here is Kyla with her binky for the last time (she was a little older than Heidi).

look-a-likes

Um....this isn't the cutest picture but to me they look like twinsies and that's cute. Can you say same expression!

good reads

I have been really into blogs lately- not just my own but others as well. I have to share a few posts from fellow bloggers that I just love. One is from my friend Kendra and the other is from someone I have never met but whose circle of friends (and blogs) has intertwined with my own. Both are about motherhood and both are sweet and sincere.

Kendra's Gotcha Day & Rebekah's In These Shoes.

Tell me all about it?

It's Kyla's way of saying "WHY?" You know the type of kid or that age of kid where everything is "Why?" Well, she's there! But it's not "why this?" or "why that," it's "tell me all about it."

She'll ask a question such as "Where are we going?" To which I will reply, "The grocery store." She will then say, "Tell me all about it?" "Well, we need to buy some food and so we are going to the store to get it." "But tell me all about it?" What else am I supposed to say? It can go on like this for several rounds.

Another favorite Kyla saying: "And who else?" It goes something like this: "We are going to grandma's house." Kyla says, "Tell me all about it?" I say, "Well, grandma and papa live there and we are going to visit them." She says, "And who else?" I say, "Ya Ya." "And who else?" "Tyler and Chelsea." "And who else?" And so on and so on. This interaction happens pretty much anytime we go anywhere.


Curious Kyla.

3 little fish

Ben Franklin

If you haven't noticed, I've been feeling rather crafty lately. Still not sold on full fledged scrapbooking...they are still working on me. BUT I've a new found interest in making things. My mom, knowing this, said I had to go up to the Ben Franklin craft store in Redmond. She thought I would love it. She and I and the girls made a trek up there and I DID LOVE IT! I could have spent hours in there if it weren't for two certain little girlys. Anyways, I always go to the craft store wanting to craft something but not know what to do. Well, at this place they have samples and ideas everywhere with instructions and supply lists. I purchased (well my mom purchased some) enough for three different fun crafts. I haven't completed any but I'm really excited about their potential and ready to get started!

princesses , a carrot, & an old truck

Casey's parents invited the girls and I to ride in the back of their old pick up truck in the Des Moines parade. It was a little (I mean a lot) hectic during the hour and a half waiting period before the parade began with Kyla, Heidi, and Pearson. Each one almost fell out of the back a few times. We waved to all the people along the route. All the way, Heidi would say "hello people!" My favorite quote of the night was from Raegan as we drove by Red Robin and could smell all of its goodness, "I wish we could just stop this parade and go to Red Robin!" The highlight for Kyla was talking to "actual" princesses. Although, you can't tell it by this first picture.

The highlight for Heidi, this life size carrot. She actually asked me if we could "take a picture with that carrot mom."

Click here to see all of us girls in the back of the truck! (Don't let the Sunday truck picture confuse you- that was our truck when it broke down today).

dancing and fun

Last night we traveled (a far distance) to Zack (Casey's cousin) & Melissa's wedding. We had a great time. Kyla got to see what flower girls actually do, as she will be one in a few months. She hung out with the three little flower girls the whole night (Hannah, Raegan, & Hannah Jo). The ice cream cakes were one of my favorite parts. And of course the dancing...who doesn't love a good dance party? Well, if you know me, you know I DO! Kyla loved it too. She was a zombie by that point (because of the late hour) but she didn't let that stop her from busting a move.

shout out to rwanda

My sister-in-law, LOREEN, has been in Rwanda for a few weeks now. (She'll be there for a couple of months). She's there...helping out at an orphanage? Well, actually, I'm not sure what she's doing there!?! She's serving God! And going without a shower for 12 days! Can you imagine.? Crazy! Anyways...Loreen, this one is for you. Below is part of her email, recapping her amazing trip. She is so brave.

Loreen, they were totally doing this FULL OUT until I pulled out the camera to film it. They start out great but as you will see...it fades quickly.

Exerpt from Loreen's email dated 7/10/09:

The good parts:
*The kids are so cute and amazing and I was welcomed with open arms almost immediately upon my arrival at the homes.
*I started teaching my art classes this week: We learned about bear hugs, shapes, worked on our cutting with scissors skills (very interesting...) and have had good time drawing and coloring in the evening before bedtime.
*The staff treats me so well here, they always make sure that I have what I need (as far as their resources allow), I feel like a princess.
*I get an excuse to dance around, make up fun art projects, and play with kids all day!
*I have a nice room with my own bathroom in the back of one of the homes (about 1500 Sq ft with 2 "mommies" and 8 kids

The bad parts:
*I forgot my connector thingy that lets me upload my pictures from my camera. That SUCKS! I remember everything else, crammed and jammed everything I could think of into those suitcases and forgot one of the most important things! Hopefully today I will be going into town and see if I can fix that problem.
*NO RUNNING WATER!
*Overall, the food is not bad, I had some goat meat the other day that wasn't as bad as I expected either. But I will definitely have to draw the line when I get home and say NO potatoes or beans of any kind for at least 5 years...

The ugly parts:
*My hair is disgusting - even after trying to wash it in a bucket of cold water, it's just not the same...

God is good, and He has been gracious to see beyond the no water, marginal food, and disgusting hair that when you look into the eyes of those kids and they draw you pictures that say, "I loeva you Loreen", It's all TOTALLY worth it.

daddy's trick

Kyla thought this was VERY impressive. WOW DADDY!

more of my work

I think this is so fun and love practicing on all my favorite photos.

first and last time

This is how I'm feeling about bicycles right about now....

We found this on the course the 2nd day and it described exactly how we were feeling right at that moment. No more bikes!!

204 miles is a LONG way. A very LONG way. A very HILLY LONG way. And yes, I put in those extra 4 miles because they DID matter. A LOT.

Here is a recap of the 2 day event in which we spent a total of 16 hours riding our bikes (this does not include the breaks- we were on the road a total of 22 hours.)

Day One: Seattle (Husky Stadium) to Centralia 98 miles. Scorching 88 degree weather, THE HILL as described by the STP handbook (a LARGE LONG CRAZY hill in Puyallup), lots of water breaks, long twenty minute lines to use a Honey Bucket, a long bike trail that never ended, being dog tired and going to bed at 8 o'clock. Roadkill count: 14

Day Two: Centralia to Portland 106 miles. Thunder, lightning, pouring down rain, soaking wet clothes, blisters, aching bodies, a scary trek across the bridge that connects Washington to Oregon that included pelting rain and wind gusts, rolling hill after rolling hill (the hills never ended), so ready to be done with this. Roadkill count: 6

Needless to say, I don't think I'll be endeavouring on this sort of thing again. Crazy hard. CRAZY CRAZY HARD!! But it's done and I did it.

Don't let the smiles in these pictures fool you.

Seattle to Portland Day 1

Done! 100 miles down....100 more to go! We are so tired. Ugh...thanks Polly and Tim for letting us crash...going to bed now.

Ten on Ten: July 2009

textures

photo taken 8.08

another photo project

I'm now going to be joining in on another photo project. It's called Ten on Ten. My friend, Kristin showed me a cool project set up by someone we went to SPU with. The idea here is to "take a photo once an hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month to document a snapshot of your life and find beauty among the ordinary things of your day." This is sort of the same idea as Project 365 but I haven't been so abstract there. I usually take a picture of something we did that day (which includes a lot of posed pictures) rather than the simple little things around me. This is a chance to try to be a little creative. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to give it a try this month. So watch for that post Friday night, check out what other people do by clicking on the Ten on Ten link above or on my sidebar, or give it a try yourself. Anyone can be added, just leave a comment on the Ten on Ten blog.


Here is what I learned how to do today (the scruffy edges around the photo):

In case you didn't quite catch what it was I learned yesterday, here is the original photo. The lesson was how to make your photos have that more vintage hand painted feel. The only thing I did was adjust the colors in the photo and add a black frame.

Project #2

As Heidi would say, "I LOVE IT!"

negative

practicing my new pse skills

Sassy- Project #1

I have had Photoshop Elements for about six months now. It's a pretty complex software (for me) but I still have had a lot of fun playing around with it and learning how to doctor up my photos mostly by using online tutorials on YouTube. It has become a new hobby and I really have enjoyed it. I am now participating in a two week, online class from Jessica Sprague. I should learn a few new tricks and I am excited to share what I've learned and to see what my fellow blogger friends come up with too. Here is Project #1:

we heart pea

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUSIN PEARSON! WE LOVE YOU!

Can't wait for your patriotic themed birthday party next year.

This post is being posted at 6:15am in honor of your current wake up time! Your mom loves it.

(P.S. Happy Birthday Dad....one day late.)

trying so hard...

...to get a good 4th of July picture with everyone. Not quite happening

night at the rink

Girls Night Out turned out to be quite hilarious this time around. We decided to venture to the roller rink and try out our skills as rollergirls.

As we pulled up to the Auburn SKATE Connection for the 7-11 All Skate, we realized we were one of two cars in the entire parking lot. Hmmm....is it closed? Oh no, we were the only people old enough to drive ourselves to the rink. The rest of the crowd had been dropped off by their parents. It seemed to be the local hang out for the pre-teen crowd. I was a little concerned about what to wear skating. The temperature outside was 90 degrees and Taryn had called ahead and found out that there was NO air conditioning. As you can see, she decided on a dress for the occasion. She decided right! It was about 100 degrees in there and her attire contributed to our non-stop smiles. We laughed pretty much the whole time. Great job on the song requests Chels. Nothing like skating around to Sexy Back with a bunch of 10 year olds. Only one injury. Taryn got rug burn on her arm from the carpet lined walls. She also got in trouble for going too fast. Ha! She was pretty fast.

These are my friends...

What a fun night and great workout. We will definatly be doing this again!